MOROCCO: Marrakesh One Of World’s Best Cities For Street Food,Enjoy Snail Soup

Marrakesh is no doubt a global must-see city for its delicacies, glamorous restaurants and culture.

You can confirmthe reputation, ranking the town among the world’s top 23 cities for street food.

If Asian cities namely Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, and Beijing are renowned for their busy and buzzy streets day and night, Jemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh becomes a huge open restaurant at dusk, immensely popular with locals as well as with foreign tourists.

Foreign travelers who do not resist the inviting smells filling the square after creative cooks set up their stalls at sunset.

Smells of food fill the streets of Moroccan cities, and nowhere is the quality or diversity greater than in Marrakesh, comments Anna Koblanck who labels Marrakesh as the street food capital of Morocco, offering everything from camel spleen kebabs to deep-fried sesame cookies.”

In the evenings, the city gathers among snake charmers and musicians at the Jemaa el-Fnaa square to taste the incredible spread of Moroccan delicacies that are on offer from the street stalls.

You’ll find everything from freshly squeezed fruit juices to snail soup and sheep heads. It’s a full-on feast for all the senses, and not particularly pricey.

Though Marrakech stands out as Morocco’s main cuisine destination, Koblanck also talks about the good food tradition and culture in other Moroccan cities where the quality or diversity is not to be ignored.

A favorite Moroccan street snack is the Meloui, a kind of pancake made of folded pastry that you buy hot off the stove.

Find in the market in Fes that was made with a spicy onion-based filling that was simply divine.

It’s a very heartwarming bite, a sort of comfort street food. You see these sold everywhere in Morocco, often in the food markets.

There are two things you can be sure of when it comes to your taste buds in Morocco:

1. You'll drink enough sugary mint tea to send your dentist into a spin.

2. After a couple of days, you'll be sick to your back teeth of tagine ,if you have any left.

What's a hapless and hungry traveler to do?

As most locals will tell you, the best Moroccan food is found at home, not in restaurants.

Unless you can wrangle an invite to a local's home, your best bet is to dive into the maze-like medinas and head to the food souks.

Vendors gather in guild-like fashion, so you'll find honey sellers in one area and a row of butchers down another alleyway.

The best cities for street food include Fez, head toward the Achabine area, Marrakech in Djemaa el-Fna and surrounding streets and Essaouira near the port end of Place Moulay Hassan.

A lot of visitors miss out on street food because they go back to their hotel between 6 and 8 p.m. for dinner, says guide Gail Leonard, who runs food tours of Fez, the culinary capital of Morocco.

This is when Moroccans promenade and snack, before dinner at home at around 10 p.m.

It's also the time when you get to connect with Moroccans, because that's when they're out eating.

Street food is also popular for breakfast and lunch and draws on Morocco's mix of Berber, Arab and European cultures.

Best of all, it's fresh, filling and yours for a few dirhams.

1. Bread

Crusty bread (khobz) baked in communal wood-fired ovens is a Moroccan staple.

The souks also serve an array of pan-fried, waistline-busting loaves.

Particularly good is beghrir (spongy bread, a bit like crumpets), harsha (buttery bread made of fine semolina) and rghaif (flaky, layered flat bread).

Topped with honey or goat cheese, they make a good snack while you're out exploring. Expect to pay from MAD 2-10 ($0.24-1.18), depending on the topping.

2. Bessara

A bowl of hearty fava bean soup, mopped up with the ubiquitous khobz, is a popular workers' breakfast and costs just MAD 5 ($0.59).

Hole-in-the-wall eateries also dish it up for lunch with a glug of lemon-infused olive oil and a sprinkle of cumin and chili.

The soup is made with loads of garlic, about a kilogram per large vat and the stallholder will simply shut up shop once he's sold out.

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3. Crumbed liver

Moroccan's are big on nose-to-tail eating.

You can chow down on cow udders, tongues, tripe, even feet.

Too adventurous? There's the Moroccan version of a wienerschnitzel: smooth and buttery calves' livers, crumbed and fried.

Food in souks is sold by weight and a decent portion costs around MAD 10 ($1.18). The vendor will chop it up and serve it in a sandwich or with a handful of fries.

4. Steamed sheep head

This delicacy is usually eaten for breakfast after a home slaughter during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).

In the souk, sheep heads are steamed for about five hours and ready by lunchtime.

They're sold as a half (MAD 15/$1.77) or whole head (MAD 30/$3.55), with or without eyes, although the brains are sold separately at another stall, says Gail.

To eat a head, wait for the vendor to scrape off the fur. Then sprinkle it with cumin, salt and chili, and scrape out the tender cheek meat and tongue.

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5. Spicy sardines
Anthony Bourdain explores the souk in Tangier, Morocco, where he discovers the strange and the colorful.

Morocco is the world's largest exporter of sardines, making the little fish a street food staple.

Sardines are stuffed with a spicy chermoula paste made of tomato, coriander, chili, garlic, paprika, cumin, olive oil and lemon juice.

They're coated in a light batter, fried until crisp and often served with a fried green chili. Again, they're sold by weight, but MAD 15 ($1.77) will buy you a tasty sandwich.

6. Aubergine fritters

Vegetarians can happily scoff their way through the souks, too, with plenty of fresh, organic produce for sale.

Sliced aubergine dipped in sweet smoked paprika batter then deep-fried go for MAD 1 apiece ($0.12).

The silky, smoky slices are served with spicy lubia (white haricot beans stewed in tomatoes, cumin, paprika, garlic and ginger) or fresh salad.

7. Brochettes

Follow the billowing clouds of smoke and you'll find mini-chicken kebabs cooking over charcoal.

The meat is rubbed with salt and spices, such as paprika and cumin. Spiced ground lamb or beef (kefta) is formed around a skewer and grilled.

Brochettes are served with khobz, harissa (red pepper sauce), red onion, cumin and salt and cost around MAD 20-30 ($2.36-3.55).

8. Snail soup

Stalls selling steaming vats of snail soup are popular across the country. A bowl costs between MAD 5-10 ($0.59-1.18).

First you pluck the snails from their shells with a toothpick before slurping the soup.

The snails have an earthy flavor, a bit like shitake mushrooms, says Gail.

Flavored with a concoction of around 15 different spices, Moroccans believe the broth is good for digestion and fever, so some drink it without snails.

9. Stuffed camel spleen

For an alternative take on sausage, how about tehal (stuffed camel spleen)?

Stuffed with ground beef, lamb or camel meat, olives, spices and a little bit of hump fat, the spleen is sent off to be baked in a communal bread oven.

It's sliced, griddled and served up in a sandwich (MAD 15/$1.77). The texture is soft and creamy, like liver, and tastes gamey.

Or you can pop into Café Clock in Fez for one of their famous camel burgers served with fries and salad (MAD 95/$11.23); 7 Derb el Magana, Talaa Kbira.

10. Desserts

Super sweet pastries and biscuits are big in Morocco, especially during Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Each evening, they celebrate breaking their fast with succulent dates, pastries and savory harira (lentil and tomato soup).

Some of the most irresistible (and calorific) goodies include briwat (deep fried filo pastry triangles stuffed with almonds) and shebakia (flower-shaped, fried sesame cookies).

Both are dipped in honey and go for around MAD 1-3 each ($0.12-0.35).

Plan-It Fez offers a half-day souk tasting trail in the ancient Fez medina for MAD 960 ($113) per person.



Tourism Observer

Snake Charming And Snake Charmers

Snake charming is the practice of pretending to hypnotize a snake by playing an instrument called pungi or bansuri.

A typical performance may also include handling the snakes or performing other seemingly dangerous acts, as well as other street performance staples, like juggling and sleight of hand.

The practice is most common in India, though other Asian nations such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Malaysia are also home to performers, as are the North African countries of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Ancient Egypt was home to one form of snake charming, though the practice as it exists today likely arose in India. It eventually spread throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Despite a sort of golden age in the 20th century, snake charming is today in danger of dying out.

This is due to a variety of factors, chief among them the recent enforcement of a 1972 law in India banning ownership of snakes. In retaliation, snake charmers have organized in recent years, protesting the loss of their only means of livelihood, and the government has made some overtures to them.

Many snake charmers live a wandering existence, visiting towns and villages on market days and during festivals. With a few rare exceptions they make every effort to keep themselves from harm's way. The charmer typically sits out of biting range and the snake is sluggish and reluctant to attack anyway.

More drastic means of protection include removing the creature's fangs or venom glands, or even sewing the snake's mouth shut. The most popular species are those native to the snake charmer's home region, typically various kinds of cobras, though vipers and other types are also used.

Although snakes are able to sense sound, they lack the outer ear that would enable them to hear the music. They follow the pungi that the snake charmer holds with their hands. The snake considers the person and pungi a threat and responds to it as if it were a predator.

The earliest evidence for snake charming comes from ancient Egyptian sources. Charmers there mainly acted as magicians and healers. As literate and high-status men, part of their studies involved learning the various types of snake, the gods to whom they were sacred, and how to treat those who were bitten by the reptiles.

Entertainment was also part of their repertoire, and they knew how to handle the animals and charm them for their patrons.

One of the earliest records of snake charming appears in the Bible in Psalm 58:3–5: The wicked turn aside from birth; liars go astray as soon as they are born. Their venom is like that of a snake, like a deaf serpent that does not hear, that does not respond to the magicians, or to a skilled snake-charmer.

Snake charming as it exists today probably originated in India.Hinduism has long held serpents to be sacred; the animals are believed to be related to the Nagas, and many gods are pictured under the protection of the cobra. Indians thus considered snake charmers to be holy men who were influenced by the gods.

The earliest snake charmers were likely traditional healers by trade. As part of their training, they learned to treat snake bites. Many also learned how to handle snakes, and people called on them to remove snakes from their homes.

Baba Gulabgir or Gulabgarnath became their guru since his legend states that he taught people to revere the reptiles and not fear them. The practice eventually spread to nearby regions, ultimately reaching North Africa and Southeast Asia.

The early 20th century proved something of a golden age for snake charmers. Governments promoted the practice to draw tourism, and snake charmers were often sent overseas to perform at cultural festivals and for private patrons. In addition, the charmers provided a valuable source of snake venom for creating antivenins.

Today, cultural changes are threatening the profession of the snake charmer in India. One reason for this is the rise of cable television; nature documentaries have extinguished much of the fear and revulsion once felt toward the animals and thus demystified the snake charmer.

In addition, many people have less spare time than they once did, especially children, who in previous decades could watch a charmer all day with no commitments to school.

Animal-rights groups have also made an impact by decrying what they deem to be the abuse of a number of endangered species. Another factor is urbanisation and deforestation, which have made the snakes upon which the charmers rely increasingly rare.

This has in turn given rise to the single most important reason snake charming is declining, at least in India: It is no longer legal.

India passed its Wildlife Protection Act in 1972. The law originally aimed at preventing the export of snakeskins, introducing a seven-year prison term for owning or selling snakes.

Beginning in the late 1990s, however, animal-rights groups convinced the government to also apply the law to snake charmers.

As a result, the charmers were forced to move their performances to less-travelled areas such as small villages or to pay hefty bribes when caught by police officers.

The trade is hardly profitable anymore, and many practitioners must supplement their income by begging, scavenging, or working as day labourers.

Children of snake charmers increasingly decide to leave the profession to pursue higher-paying work, and many fathers do not try to make them reconsider.

Modern Indians often view snake charmers as little more than beggars.

Some snake charmers have struck back against this stereotype. In 2003, hundreds of them gathered at the temple of Charkhi Dadri in Haryana to bring international attention to their plight.

In December of the following year, a group of snake charmers stormed the legislature of the Indian state of Odisha with their demands while brandishing their animals. The Indian government and various animal-rights groups have now acknowledged the problem.

One suggested solution is to train the performers to be snake caretakers and educators. In return, they could sell their traditional medicines as souvenirs.

Another proposal would try to focus attention on the snake charmers' music and treat them like other street musicians.

The Indian government has also begun allowing a limited number of snake charmers to perform at specified tourist sites.

Snake charmers typically walk the streets holding their serpents in baskets or pots hanging from a bamboo pole slung over the shoulder. Charmers cover these containers with cloths between performances.

Dress in India, Pakistan and neighbouring countries is generally the same: long hair, a white turban, earrings, and necklaces of shells or beads.

Once the performer finds a satisfactory location to set up, he sets his pots and baskets about him,often with the help of a team of assistants who may be his apprentices and sits cross-legged on the ground in front of a closed pot or basket.

He removes the lid, then begins playing a flute-like instrument made from a gourd, known as a been or pungi. As if drawn by the tune, a snake eventually emerges from the container; if a cobra, it may even extend its hood.

Traditionally, snake charmers use snakes that they have captured themselves in the wild. This task is not too difficult, as most South Asian and North African snakes tend to be slow movers.

The exercise also teaches the hunter how to handle the wild reptiles. Today, however, more and more charmers buy their animals from snake dealers. A typical charmer takes in about seven animals per year.

The exact species of serpents used varies by region. In India, the Indian cobra is preferred, though some charmers may also use Russell's vipers. Indian and Burmese pythons, and even mangrove snakes are also encountered, though they are not as popular.

In North Africa, the Egyptian cobra, puff adder, carpet viper and horned desert viper are commonly featured in performances.

Except for the pythons and mangrove snakes, all of these species are highly venomous.

At home, snake charmers keep their animals in containers such as baskets, boxes, pots, or sacks. They then train the creatures before bringing them out into public.

For those charmers who do not de-fang their pets, this may include introducing the snake to a hard object similar to the pungi. The snake supposedly learns that striking the object only causes pain.

For safety, some North African snake charmers stitch closed the mouth of their performing snakes, leaving just enough opening for the animal to be able to move its tongue in and out.

Members of the audience in that region believe that the snake's ability to deliver venomous bites comes from its tongue, rather than fangs. Snakes subjected to this practice soon die of starvation or mouth infection, and must be replaced by freshly caught specimens.

Methods of dealing with the fangs include expert surgical removal of both the fangs and replacement fangs, which has been done by some Native American and African snake charmers.

Barring extraordinary measures, pulled fangs are replaced within days. Fangs may also be plugged with wax or other material.

In West Africa, charmers have been observed to treat the snake's body and mouth with herbs that paralyze the jaw muscles and cause inflammation of the venom glands.

Members of the Pakkoku clan of Burma tattoo themselves with ink mixed with cobra venom on their upper body in a weekly inoculation which may protect them from the snake, though there is no scientific evidence of that.

Snake charming is typically an inherited profession.

Most would-be charmers thus begin learning the practice at a young age from their fathers. In 2007 a viral video made headlines about an infant who was playing with a defanged cobra.

Members of the Sapera or Sapuakela castes, snake charmers have little other choice of profession. In fact, entire settlements of snake charmers and their families exist in some parts of India and neighbouring countries.

In Bangladesh, snake charmers are typically members of the nomadic ethnic group Bede. They tend to live by rivers and use them to boat to different towns on market days and during festivals.

North African charmers usually set up in open-air markets and souks for their performances.

In coastal resort towns and near major tourist destinations one can see snake charmers catering to the tourist market, but in most of the region they perform for the local audiences; an important part of their income comes from selling pamphlets containing various magic spells in particular, of course, against snake bites.

In previous eras, snake charming was often the charmer's only source of income. This is less true today, as many charmers also scavenge, scrounge, sell items such as amulets and jewelry, or perform at private parties to make ends meet.

Snake charmers are often regarded as traditional healers and magicians, as well, especially in rural areas.

These charmers concoct and sell all manner of potions and unguents that purportedly do anything from curing the common cold to raising the dead.

They also act as a sort of pest control, as villagers and city-dwellers alike call on them to rid homes of snakes,though some accuse snake charmers of releasing their own animals in order to receive the fee for simply catching them again.



Tourism Observer