The souk

Several posts ago, I said I would post some pictures of the Ifrane souk. But I think I had better back up and also explain what a souk is. Souks are markets, and every Moroccan town has a souk location. Big cities have several souks; smaller towns, like Ifrane and nearby Azrou, have one souk location and have designated souk days.

The Ifrane souk is on Saturdays and Sundays. The souk takes place in a large area a bit outside of town. If you've ever been to an outdoor craft fair or some such thing in the U.S., you might be able to imagine the souk's basic layout. There are dozens and dozens of vendors selling everything from fruits and vegetables to soaps to clothes to electronics. It is outdoors, but some of the area has a permanent covering over it, and much of the rest is covered with canopies to provide shade and, in the winter, some protection from snow and rain. The food vendors are in the middle, with those selling non-food wares on the periphery. (Much of the non-food items are used, and a lot of them look like things that most Americans would send to the landfill. In fact, I suspect many of the items for sale came from dumps. I was also told that some of the clothes sold at the souk are leftovers shipped here from countries like the U.S.)

Souk etiquette is pretty simple. Most produce vendors will hand you a plastic bag (mikka) and you fill it with whatever fruit or vegetable you want. Produce is sold by the kilogram (kilo), although you can usually get a nuss-kilo (half a kilo). Spices are sold by the dirham. You tell the vendor how many dirhams worth of a spice you want, and he (always a "he") expertly wraps it in paper and then puts it in a mikka for you.

Most shoppers have their favorite vendors who they return to again and again. Two of the three times I have been to the Ifrane souk, I was lucky enough to go with American women who speak Arabic, so they have helped me immensely with navigating through the huge piles of tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, artichokes, apples....Today I also had the help of LW's maid, Amina (yes, "maid" is the word that's used, regardless of how much it makes you cringe), who was grabbing items and bagging them for me. (Amina is also, as far as I know, the only woman in Ifrane who makes tortillas, which can be purchased for two dirhams a piece. She makes them one at a time, by hand!) LW and Amina also bought me a little of an herb they called shiba, which my research tells me means "absinthe," so I hope what they really bought me is something the book Eat Smart in Morocco calls sheh. Little bits of the herb are added to Moroccan mint tea, and I put some in my tea this afternoon with no apparent effects. Hmm.

Moving on...

The sense of abundance at a souk is incredible. The Whole Foods marketing team should take note. And food here is cheap (by my rich Western standards). Today, for around $15 U.S., T and I bought kilos and kilos of tomatoes, grapes, green beans, sweet potatoes, lemons, melon, and fresh mint. Today I also got several free dates from LW's favorite date vendor. And I came home with a nuss-kilo of his best dates, even though I'm not sure what I'll do with that many of them.

The next time you're buying groceries at Wal-Mart, think of me walking around in the fresh air, munching on free dates, picking out fresh fruits and vegetables and paying pocket change for them. Not so bad, is it?