The Story

The Medina, the Souks, and the Square That Never Sleeps

At the heart of Marrakesh's medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985, sits Jemaa el-Fnaa — a square with roots as both marketplace and public gathering place stretching back centuries, closed to vehicle traffic since the early 2000s and still transformed nightly as food stalls, musicians, and storytellers take over between dusk and midnight. The Koutoubia Mosque's 77-meter minaret, one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture anywhere, is visible from nearly every rooftop in the city. From the square, the souks fan out in narrow, covered lanes where goods are still made and sold in the same stalls, while riads — traditional courtyard houses built around interior gardens — sit tucked behind unmarked doors just off the main paths.

This shoot moves through that layered geography: rooftop views over the medina, the texture of the souks, and the quieter, plant-filled interiors of riad courtyards, building a visual record of a city that operates on a completely different rhythm after dark.

Selected work

Marrakesh, Morocco