Morocco: The Henna Suq In Fez

Colette Apelian

01/16/13

Berkeley, CA / Morocco Board News--  Walk into the Henna Suq in the old city of Fez and find a haven from the hustle and bustle of the streets outside its narrow courtyard. As you take a moment to breathe without being jostled by donkeys, you can also learn about the natural and handmade bath and beauty products of Morocco, and, if you linger, see a side of Fez non-Moroccan tourists do not normally encounter. 

The Henna Suq, or Henna Marketplace in Arabic, is named after the henna plant, which has been cultivated in Morocco for centuries. Moroccans use henna to dye and preserve leather and wool, in addition to cosmetically to color skin, hair, and fingernails. The cosmetic traditions are on display in the Henna Suq, which is a veritable living museum of henna use.

Come in the mornings or, even better, the afternoons after lunch, around three o’clock. Take a glass of coffee or mint tea from the small café across from the fountain and sit in the open square admiring the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the ancient plane tree in the center, one of the few trees remaining in public plazas of the Fez madina. (Another is in front of the Demnati Fountain in Ain Azleten). As your eyes become used to the shade, you can take your time examining the traditionally arranged stalls around the courtyard. Here, there are few faux guides or hustlers, and mostly madina residents, often in traditional clothing (jellabas) and headscarves.

Know a little Arabic? Listen close and you can hear them bargaining in the rial monetary system few non-Moroccans know. The system was officially phased out about a century ago, but is still used today. Bargaining usually takes place in units of twenty and hundred rials. Twenty rials is one dirhem, so a price of 50 rials means the item costs 2.5 dirhems. One hundred rials is five dirhems, so a two hundred rial item is actually a thousand francs, which is 10 dirhems.  Though it is rare to find in the Henna Suq, you may even hear someone mention a thousand rials, which is 50 dirhems. Now that’s expensive henna!

Feel like a beauty treatment? Look for Fatima, a walking encyclopedia of henna tattoos who usually waits by the beautiful geometric tile fountain across from the mosque entrance. Speak to her in French or Arabic, or have one of the nearby vendors translate your conversation into another language. Fatima is known for giving fixed prices for black or red henna tattoos, a craft she uses to support her and her daughter. Choose a design from the booklet she brings, or, if you really want to learn about the henna traditions in Morocco, request a pattern that she normally gives local ladies for special occasions. As she works, ask her to explain the difference between black and red henna, the history and symbolism of geometric patterns popular in Fez or other regions of Morocco, which design is best for which event, how the henna product is prepared, in addition to the tools henna artists have used over time to apply it to the skin.   

Another person you can ask these questions and more is in Mohammed Yahyawi Idrissi Yazzami or his brother, Youssef. Both are descendants of Fassi inhabitants, so are “Sharifs.” Both are also sons of the last Henna Suq mohtassib (price-controller) who would use the large public scale one stall over from Mohammed's and Youssef’s. The middle stall is owned by their good friend, Ahmed. Mohammed can sometimes be found with Michela Fanara, an artist and his wife who has also restored a historic house (dar) in the madina. Between them, they can converse in English, French, Italian, Arabic, German, Spanish, and Korean.

Ask Mohammed and his family to explain the significance and use of the leaves, powders, soaps, and stones for sale, and, if you’re lucky, he will also recite some of the folk tales and local stories of Fez, in addition to the best places to find homemade delicacies, like hariria (hearty meat stew), bisara (usually vegetarian pea or bean soup), and smen (clarified butter).  The prices are fixed and most products sold for well under $4 USD. Mohammed and Youssef rely on trade with inhabitants. Selling to and sharing their knowledge with travelers is an expression of their love for Fez and the products on their shelves. Some of their goods are hand-produced in madina homes by elderly inhabitants using labor intensive, age-old methods, both merchants are happy to describe. Buying something from their stall is a way of both supporting and learning about an important part of Fez madina culture. If you are lucky, you may even see a trade between one of the artisans and a Henna Suq vendor.

Besides having Mohammed and his family explain henna, you can ask them to show you the raw and hand ground form of an ancient ancestor to our eyeliner today, kohl. Make sure they explain the different colors and the various instruments used to apply it. Ask Michela to point out some of her kohl applicators, which are hand-turned wooden tools produced in the madina and painted with her unique designs. Youssef and Ahmed can also translate the Arabic names written on the artisanal soaps, including the packets of clay ghassoul used as shampoo. They can also explain how to use the many lipsticks, perfumes, fragrant waters, and exfoliates in the front of his stall or stored in the back.

After a short while in the Henna Suq, you will be knowledgeable about the rich bath and cosmetic traditions of Fez, and be ready to visit a hammam (bathhouse).  Let Mohammed this is what you want to do, and he will orientate you on what to bring with you.

The Henna Suq is in the center of Fez and along major thoroughfares that lead to other sights and historic monuments of the madina. It is also within a short walking distance of both the Ain Azliten and Seffarine Hammams. To find the Henna Suq, walk under the large blue tiled gate, Bab Bou Jeloud, make a left turn at the fork in the road, marked by a shish kabob stand in Fez (indulge if you are hungry, 10 dirhems [two hundred rials] buys you a delicious snack!) Make your way down Talaa Kebira and, after about fifteen minutes, you will come to a level and straight section of the road at an area called Ain Allou and Attarine. Look up and along the right side of the street to find a sign that tells you to turn right to find the entrance to the Henna Suq. The road, Derb Fakharine (Street of Pottery) is the same road that will eventually take you close to the Nejjarine Square, Suq, and Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts. The road will also take you to the back side of the Kissariya marketplace where they sell traditional Moroccan clothing and shoes. The Henna Suq is the first entrance to your left and recognizable by the large tree in the center of a rare open space in the madina.

To go to the Ain Azleten Hammam, return to Talaa Kebira and walk back the way you came (towards Bab Bou Jeloud). After about ten minutes, you will reach the bathhouse on Talaa Kebira. Go with a towel and change of underwear, which you can typically buy for under ten united states dollars. For a small fee, attendants will help you use the products you just bought in the Henna Suq.

The Seffarine Hammam is a little closer to the Henna Suq. Go back to Talaa Kebira and walk in the other direction, away from Bab Bou Jeloud. After a short while, the road ends at the Medersa el-Attarine’s elaborate metal doors. Turn right and circle around the Karaouine Mosque and University until you arrive at the Seffarine Square with the metal artisans pounding on large basins. The Seffarine Hammam is just south of the square, and has been recently restored with the support of the Venice Institute for Urban Sustainability. Enjoy, and, as they say in Morocco, “bi-saha” (to your health)!

Colette Apelian, Ph.D. is an Art History Instructor at Berkeley City College
Please do not distribute or publish without author’s consent