![Djemaa el Fna](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Djemaa_el_Fna.jpg)
Jemaa el-Fnaa ( ar, ساحة جامع الفناء ''Sāḥat Jāmiʾ al-Fanāʾ'', also Jemaa el-Fna, Djema el-Fna or Djemaa el-Fnaa) is a square and market place in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
's
medina quarter
A medina (from ar, مدينة, translit=madīnah, lit=city) is a historical district in a number of North African cities, often corresponding to an old walled city. The term comes from the Arabic word simply meaning "city" or "town".
Histori ...
(old city). It remains the main square of Marrakesh, used by locals and tourists.
Name
The origin of its name is unclear: ''jamaa'' means "congregation" or "mosque" in Arabic, probably referring to a destroyed mosque on the site. ''Fnaʼ'' or ''fanâʼ'' can mean "death/extinction" or "a courtyard, space in front of a building". "''finâʼ'' in Arabic commonly means "open area"; a straight translation would be "the gathering/congregation area". Other meanings could be "The assembly of death," or "The Mosque at the End of the World". Another explanation is that it refers to a mosque with a distinctive courtyard or square in front of it. A third translation is "assembly of the dead", referring to public executions on the plaza around 1050 CE.
One specific explanation endorsed by modern historians
comes from historical reports that the powerful
Saadian
The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...
sultan
Ahmad al-Mansur
Ahmad al-Mansur ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد المنصور, Ahmad Abu al-Abbas al-Mansur, also al-Mansur al-Dahabbi (the Golden), ar, أحمد المنصور الذهبي; and Ahmed al-Mansour; 1549 in Fes – 25 August 1603, Fes) was the ...
(ruled 1578–1603) had embarked on the construction of a monumental
Friday mosque
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.*
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in the middle of the square. However, due to a downturn in fortunes (probably outbreaks of the plague) the sultan was forced to abandon the project part-way through. The mosque thus remained unfinished and fell into ruins. The ruined outline of its walls was apparently still visible in the 19th century and corresponded roughly to the current site of the "Souk Jdid" (the "new souk" just north of the food-stalls).
In this way, "''jamaa al-fna'
'' " ostensibly refers to the place of the "ruined mosque". The name "''Jamaa al-Fna'
'' " appears in historical records for the first time in the 17th-century chronicle of the
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
n historian Abderrahman as-Sa'idi. As-Sa'idi claimed that the intended name of al-Mansour's unfinished mosque was ''jamaa al-hna'', meaning "Mosque of Tranquility", but that after its abandonment it came to be known, by popular irony, as the "Mosque of ruination/annihilation", or ''jamaa al-fana'
''
(the word ''fana in this case meaning a state of being extinguished or totally ruined).
History
Early history: Almoravid and Almohad periods
Marrakesh was founded by the
Almoravid Dynasty
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that s ...
in 1070 by
Abu Bakr ibn Umar
Abu Bakr ibn Umar ibn Ibrahim ibn Turgut, sometimes suffixed al-Sanhaji or al-Lamtuni (died 1087; ar, أبو بكر بن عمر) was a chieftain of the Lamtuna Berber Tribe and Amir of the Almoravids from 1056 until his death. He is credited ...
and subsequently developed by his successors.
Initially, the city's two main monuments and focal points were the fortress known as ''Ksar el-Hajjar'' ("fortress of stone") and the city's first
Friday mosque
A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.*
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*
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(the site of the future
Ben Youssef Mosque). The Ksar el-Hajjar was located directly north of today's
Kutubiyya Mosque
The Kutubiyya Mosque ( ; Berber: ⵜⵉⵎⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵍⴽⵓⵜⵓⴱⵉⵢⵢⴰ, french: Mosquée Koutoubia) or Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. The mosque's name is also variably rendered as Jami' al-K ...
. The major
souk (market) streets of the city thus developed along the roads linking these two important sites and still correspond to the main axis of souks today. At one end of this axis, next to the Ksar el-Hajjar, a large open space existed for temporary and weekly markets. This space was initially known as ''Rahbat al-Ksar'' ("the place of the fortress").
Other historical records refer to it as ''as-Saha al-Kubra'' ("the grand square"), or simply as ''as-Saha'' or ''ar-Rahba''.
The Almoravid
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
Ali ibn Yusuf
Ali ibn Yusuf (also known as "Ali Ben Youssef") () (born 1084 died 26 January 1143) was the 5th Almoravid emir. He reigned from 1106–1143.
Biography
Ali ibn Yusuf was born in 1084 in Ceuta. He was the son of Yusuf ibn T ...
(ruled 1106-1143) soon afterwards constructed a palace directly south of and adjacent to the Ksar el-Hajjar, on the actual site of the later Kutubiyya Mosque. One part of this palace was a monumental stone gate on its east side which faced towards the ''Rahbat al-Ksar''.
The gate likely played a symbolic role: it was the entrance to the palace for those seeking an audience with the sovereign, and it's possible the ruler himself would sit, enthroned, before the gate and publicly dispense justice on a weekly basis (a tradition which existed among other Moroccan and
Andalusian ruling dynasties).
The importance of the great public square in front of the royal palace thus led it to become the place for public executions, military parades, festivals, and other public events until long afterwards.
After a destructive struggle, Marrakech fell to the
Almohads
The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fo ...
in 1147, who undertook many construction projects throughout the city. This included construction of the nearby Kutubiyya Mosque, begun in 1147, which was meant to replace the Almoravid-built Ben Youssef Mosque as the city's main mosque. Notably, a new royal ''
kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
'' (citadel) was erected further south by
Ya'qub al-Mansur
Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb ibn Yūsuf ibn Abd al-Muʾmin al-Manṣūr (; c. 1160 – 23 January 1199 Marrakesh), commonly known as Yaqub al-Mansur () or Moulay Yacoub (), was the third Almohad Caliph. Succeeding his father, al-Mansur reigned from 11 ...
after 1184.
As the Almohad rulers moved to the new kasbah, the old Almoravid palace and fortress fell out of use and was eventually torn down (in part to make way for the new Kutubiyya Mosque). Subsequently, with the fortunes of the city, the Jemaa el-Fna saw periods of decline and also renewal.
Later history: Saadian period to modern times
Despite the encroachment of new constructions on the edge of the square over time, it never disappeared due to its role as an open market area and as the site of public events.
One attempt to fill a large part of the square is reported to have been made by the
Saadian
The Saadi Sultanate (also rendered in English as Sa'di, Sa'did, Sa'dian, or Saadian; ar, السعديون, translit=as-saʿdiyyūn) was a state which ruled present-day Morocco and parts of West Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was l ...
sultan
Ahmad al-Mansour who attempted to build a monumental mosque in the square. The mosque would have likely followed the same model as the Bab Doukkala and Mouassine Mosques, being deliberately built in the midst of major traffic routes in the city, and would have been accompanied by a number of attendant civic and religious buildings.
The mosque was never finished, however, possibly due to disasters like the plague epidemics during al-Mansour's reign. Construction was abandoned part-way through and what had been built fell into ruin and was taken over by market stalls and other occupants. (It is probably also the site of a modern shop complex, Souk Jdid, just north of the food-stalls today, whose outline has the same compass orientation as the mosques of al-Mansour's time.) This ruined mosque may have given the square its current name, Jemaa el-Fna ("Mosque of Ruins").
On January 24, 1864, a massive explosion took place in the area of the square, reportedly caused by the criminal negligence of certain officials trying to avoid a government inspection. A fire in a ''
funduq
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering ...
'' (commercial warehouse) ignited 500
quintal
The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...
s of
gunpowder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...
which were dangerously stored there. The explosion damaged houses and shops in a wide radius and resulted in some 300 deaths.
The square continued to serve as a meeting place at the heart of the city despite having no formal architectural delineation. In addition to its old role as a place of public executions, it was also the site of a traditional Friday market, a stage for the performance of
fantasias, and the setting of public entertainment in the evenings (much as today).
In 1922 the government (under
French administration at the time), passed the first laws aimed at protecting and preserving the square's cultural space and heritage. In 2001 the square was proclaimed an
Intangible Cultural Heritage
An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, and in 2008 it was included in UNESCO's
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Square
During the day it is predominantly occupied by
orange juice
Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. A ...
stalls, water sellers with traditional leather water-bags and brass cups, youths with chained
Barbary ape
The Barbary macaque (''Macaca sylvanus''), also known as Barbary ape, is a macaque species native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco, along with a small introduced population in Gibraltar.
It is the type species of the ...
s and
snake charmer
Snake charming is the practice of appearing to hypnotize a snake (often a cobra) by playing and waving around an instrument called a pungi. A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerou ...
s despite the protected status of these species under Moroccan law.
[Bergin and Nijman (2014) Open, Unregulated Trade in Wildlife in Morocco’s Markets. TRAFFIC Bulletin Available fro]
researchgate.net
accessed Mar 23, 2015.
As the day progresses, the entertainment on offer changes: the snake charmers depart, and late in the day the square becomes more crowded, with
Chleuh
The Shilha people (, ), or Ishelhien, or Chleuh are a Berber subgroup primarily inhabiting the Anti Atlas, High Atlas, Sous Valley, and Soussi coastal regions of Morocco.
Overview
The Shilha people traditionally call themselves ''ishelhien''. ...
dancing-boys (it would be against custom for girls to provide such entertainment), story-tellers (telling their tales in
Berber or
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, to an audience of locals), magicians, and peddlers of traditional medicines. As darkness falls, the square fills with dozens of food-stalls as the number of people on the square peaks.
![Jmaalfnaa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Jmaalfnaa.jpg)
The square is edged along one side by the Marrakesh
souk, a traditional North African market catering both for the common daily needs of the locals, and for the tourist trade. On other sides are hotels and gardens and cafe terraces, and narrow streets lead into the alleys of the medina quarter.
Once a bus station, the place was closed to vehicle traffic in the early 2000s. The authorities are well aware of its importance to the tourist trade, and a strong but discreet police presence ensures the safety of visitors.
UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The idea of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
project
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and t ...
came from people concerned about the Jamaa el Fna. The place is known for its active concentration of traditional activities by storytellers, musicians and performers, but it was threatened by economic development pressures. In fighting for the protection of traditions, the residents called for action on an international level to recognize the need for the protection of such places — termed "cultural spaces" — and other popular and traditional forms of cultural expression.
UNESCO encourages communities to identify, document, protect, promote and revitalize such heritage. The UNESCO label aims to raise awareness about the importance of oral and intangible heritage as an essential component of cultural diversity.
2011 bombing
![Marrakech Bombing Site Late in the Day](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Marrakech_Bombing_Site_Late_in_the_Day.jpg)
Shortly before noon on April 28, 2011, a blast originating in a café in the square killed 17 people and injured another 25. Initial reports blamed an accidental gas explosion, but officials later blamed "criminals" and "terrorists".
Trivia
*Jamaa El-Fnaa, Marrakesh's main square, was featured in the fifth episode of the
25th Season of ''
The Amazing Race
''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
''.
*The square was featured in the
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
movie ''
The Man Who Knew Too Much'' (1956).
*An interesting account of the place in the 1970s can be seen in
Esther Freud
Esther Freud (born 2 May 1963) is a British novelist.
Early life and training
Born in London, Freud is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and painter Lucian Freud. She is also a great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud and niece of Clement Freud. ...
's novel ''
Hideous Kinky
''Hideous Kinky'' is an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud, daughter of British painter Lucian Freud and Bernardine Coverley and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. It depicts the author's unconventional childhood in Morocco with her mothe ...
''.
*Musicians
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Page is prolific in creating guitar riffs. His style involves various alternative ...
and
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...
recorded some songs and their DVD "No Quarter - Unledded" on the square.
* As the Djemaa el-Fnaa, the square was a featured location in
James Michener
James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...
's 1971 book ''
The Drifters
The Drifters are several American doo-wop and R&B/Soul music, soul vocal groups. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, f ...
''.
*
Juan Goytisolo lived in
Marrakesh
Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
and played an important role in the categorization of Jamaa el Fna as one of the
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and t ...
*The square was featured as a photo shoot setting in the TV reality series
America's Next Top Model Cycle 16.
*Uncorroborated reports claim that political activists have sometimes been imprisoned and abused in the police jail under Jamaa el Fna.
* The book "A Year in Marrakesh" by British travel writer
Peter Mayne
Peter Mayne (1908–1979) was an English Travel literature, travel writer who wrote about his experiences in North Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Greece. His father, C. Mayne, was Principal of Rajkumar College, Rajkot, Rajkumar College in Raj ...
includes descriptions of the square in the 1950s.
References
*''The Rough Guide To Morocco'', 2001. Rough Guide Publishing
External links
The Time Machine , Photography portfolio about Jamaa El-FnaOfficial Website , Official Website about Jamaa El-FnaBBC news about preserving intangible patrimonyA Night at Jamaa El-Fna - article in English with many high-quality pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Djemaa El Fna
Marrakesh
Squares in Morocco
Souqs
Moroccan culture
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Tourist attractions in Marrakesh