The mysterious Medina, Marrakech- Jama Efna

We were back in Marrakech last week for a short return.

While I'm in Marrakech, I always keep it a habit to visit the Medina.

This is where I get all my inspirations.
It's such a mysterious place, where the new meets the old, and blends in perfectly.
The medina  has it's own world, not like anywhere else in the world...I just love being there!!

Image by Alexbip via Flickr

This is Jma Efna, the above picture, I've taken it myself. Jma Efna is at the entrance of the medina. There are hundreds of people there all day long, either entertaining, selling food, or have outdoor restaurant booths.
I love the orange juice shop. For 10p, you can have freshly squeezed orange juice. Absolutely refreshing!
The sellers are normally really friendly and they seem to know some words in almost all languages.
They certainly surprised me, when they spoke some words in Japanese, like 'It's fresh (shinsen desu),
or "it's cheap (yasui desuyo)".

Medina is like a maze, a labyrinth, where the streets are narrow and curved and could get lost any time...in fact I always need to go with my partner, who's much better with directions !

The medina means the 'old town', and therefore it is as big as a town.  Within the medina, there are various sections. Ladies clothings, accessories, furniture, babouches, leather bags, medicine, textiles, fresh fruits,  spice shops, beads shops, you name it, they've got every store you could think of, and more!!
So, when you need something specific, you need to know where you are going, otherwise, you could spend a day, and never get there...

I wanted to go to the fringe/tassel shop. So we ended up here (as above photo). They have so many selections,  it's amazing. For a designer, this is heaven!!

All products made in medina are all hand made, the secret is given from the master to his pupils. I love the way they keep the tradition...and what a beautiful tradition, and what beautiful arts pieces they create..

We were quite thirsty and exhausted shopping in the heat of 38 degrees, and decided to have a rest at this very very touristic restaurant

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Cafes in Jma Efna are fulled with tourist people!! It's lovely to rest and chat with your friends in the shade on a hot day like this. For people who would prefer not walking in the hot weather, we also have "couches" to ride on...Hope you can visit one day the mystical red city, Marrakech too. If you have, I'd love to share stories with you.

The lovely couche!! C'est tres comfortable...