Perpetally festive, imbued with the mingled perfumes of spices and delightful scents, the souks are a maze of alleys that meander round and intersect endlessly, Every Moroccan town has its medina, its noisy crowds, its friendly sellers, its stalls piled up in a very Oriental chiaroscuro, ordinary scenes in an extraordinary life.

While the atmosphere of the souks is sometimes identical, each town has preserved its own specialities. In Fez, clay is moulded into all the pottery shapes. In Rabat, leather browns nicely. In Marrakech, wool is knotted into carpets. In Zemmour, embroidery is a major art. Wood ,fabrics, jewels and the most richly-coloured objects are piled up in a delightful disorder. Bargain-hunters pass by again and again, taking their time, always discovering something new, another stall, another craftsman.