Bab Khemis, it’s our local flea market. Smaller than Saint-Ouen, Camden, or Brooklyn, it is however worthwhile for any flea shopper. You will discover a very lively flea market with a lively atmosphere—the Moroccan flare, of course.
The souk is located at the northeast end of the medina. It is one of the doors that allow access to the medina (Bab meaning door). Bab El Khemis or Bab Khemis (pronounce the Kh as an R) means Thursday’s door because back in the day, the markets were held on Thursday.
The market is quite extensive and is composed of several more or less distinct spaces: a space open to street vendors and individuals, and a myriad of small workshops and stalls.
A Little Bit of History
Formerly named Bab Fes, because it led to the road to Fes, the entrance to the medina was renamed Bab El Khemis at the beginning of the 19th century.
This market was the largest in the city and allowed the inhabitants of the countryside to come and trade with their fellow peers or the inhabitants of the city. It was mainly used to trade dromedaries and donkeys, precious means of transportation.
Photo: My Little Kech
How is the Bab El Khemis market organized?
The flea market is essentially an open-air space, made up of bric-à-brac items, most often presented on the ground. Here you can find travelling vendors and individuals.
Entering this souk on Thursdays and weekends can be quite folkloric. Occasional sellers and professional buyers crowd together in a typically Moroccan hubbub. Concert of horns mingles with the shouts of the participants, while cars in double file, carts, and tricycles rival each other. A real live show!
Vintage teapots (Bab El Khemis market)
The other part is composed of more or less dusty workshops, wholesale stores, and small boutiques, copies of Ali Baba’s cave. After all, we are in Morocco!
As is often the case in Morocco, the area is made up of mini districts. A large open-air street is home to stainless steel workers (chimney flues and others…), a maze of streets where you can find second-hand shutters and windows, or a covered street where wooden furniture merchants follow one another.
For fans of second-hand shops and flea markets, the interesting parts are the large open-air market and the small “Ali Baba” style boutiques.
What Can we Find in Bab El Khemis?
It’s hard to find your way through this disorganized organization. The best way is to get lost in this labyrinth. This is the best way to find, unearth the rare pearl.
Outdoor boutique backroom, Ali Baba’s cave or stand on the ground, it is the kingdom of the second-hand shop.
This market differs from the so-called “tourist” souk around Jemaa El Fnaa Square. It is more for the locals.
You can find everything in the souk of Bab Khemis. Everything and anything. It is there that we find the spirit of the flea market, a mix between junk and hidden gems. Fans of second-hand goods will be in heaven.
From everyday objects to household items through furniture in more or less good condition. But also, typical old Berber, Tuareg or Arab items. Old doors, tent pegs, carpets …
Happiness for the amateurs of treasure excavation.
Lovers of vintage, ethnic and tribal objects, the question is not to know if you will find something, but to choose among all these wonders.
In search of the lost button: buttons of all kinds and colors.
I love the second-hand spirit of this kind of items. My personal tastes attract me to unusual or curiosity objects.
For connoisseurs of antique pieces, there also exists a district of antique dealers.
How and when to go to the Bab Khemis market?
It is important to know that this is a market for locals. You will not find the same products as in the so-called “tourist” souk, the one near Jemaa El Fna Square.
Two spaces very close but distinct: the souk de Bab El Khemis with the boutiques of second-hand goods and antique dealers, as well as the workshops and the flea market itself.
The big door on the crossroads of the road to Fes leads you to the second-hand dealers, the merchants of clothes and inexpensive furniture, as well as the workshops of professionals. On the parking side, you will find mostly antique dealers.
Formerly known as the Thursday souk, as its name suggests, the souk of second-hand and antique dealers is now open every day. But some of the shops are closed on Fridays, the religious day. It is best to visit the flea market on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays when you will find more vendors.
See you soon in the alleys of Bab El Khemis
And if you don’t have the time to go there or the patience to rummage through the displays, you can browse our selections from the Ethnic Latitude or Vintage Latitude collections.
Bab El Khemis
Bab El Khemis, flea market in Marrakesh
Bab Khemis, it’s our local flea market. Smaller than Saint-Ouen, Camden, or Brooklyn, it is however worthwhile for any flea shopper. You will discover a very lively flea market with a lively atmosphere—the Moroccan flare, of course.
The souk is located at the northeast end of the medina. It is one of the doors that allow access to the medina (Bab meaning door). Bab El Khemis or Bab Khemis (pronounce the Kh as an R) means Thursday’s door because back in the day, the markets were held on Thursday.
The market is quite extensive and is composed of several more or less distinct spaces: a space open to street vendors and individuals, and a myriad of small workshops and stalls.
A Little Bit of History
Formerly named Bab Fes, because it led to the road to Fes, the entrance to the medina was renamed Bab El Khemis at the beginning of the 19th century.
This market was the largest in the city and allowed the inhabitants of the countryside to come and trade with their fellow peers or the inhabitants of the city. It was mainly used to trade dromedaries and donkeys, precious means of transportation.
Photo: My Little Kech
How is the Bab El Khemis market organized?
The flea market is essentially an open-air space, made up of bric-à-brac items, most often presented on the ground. Here you can find travelling vendors and individuals.
Entering this souk on Thursdays and weekends can be quite folkloric. Occasional sellers and professional buyers crowd together in a typically Moroccan hubbub. Concert of horns mingles with the shouts of the participants, while cars in double file, carts, and tricycles rival each other. A real live show!
The other part is composed of more or less dusty workshops, wholesale stores, and small boutiques, copies of Ali Baba’s cave. After all, we are in Morocco!
As is often the case in Morocco, the area is made up of mini districts. A large open-air street is home to stainless steel workers (chimney flues and others…), a maze of streets where you can find second-hand shutters and windows, or a covered street where wooden furniture merchants follow one another.
For fans of second-hand shops and flea markets, the interesting parts are the large open-air market and the small “Ali Baba” style boutiques.
What Can we Find in Bab El Khemis?
It’s hard to find your way through this disorganized organization. The best way is to get lost in this labyrinth. This is the best way to find, unearth the rare pearl.
Outdoor boutique backroom, Ali Baba’s cave or stand on the ground, it is the kingdom of the second-hand shop.
This market differs from the so-called “tourist” souk around Jemaa El Fnaa Square. It is more for the locals.
You can find everything in the souk of Bab Khemis. Everything and anything. It is there that we find the spirit of the flea market, a mix between junk and hidden gems. Fans of second-hand goods will be in heaven.
From everyday objects to household items through furniture in more or less good condition. But also, typical old Berber, Tuareg or Arab items. Old doors, tent pegs, carpets …
Happiness for the amateurs of treasure excavation.
Lovers of vintage, ethnic and tribal objects, the question is not to know if you will find something, but to choose among all these wonders.
In search of the lost button: buttons of all kinds and colors.
Each one will find their happiness, according to their likings and their tastes. Personally, my choices are old couscous dishes, Tuareg tent pegs, or old round tables.
I love the second-hand spirit of this kind of items. My personal tastes attract me to unusual or curiosity objects.
For connoisseurs of antique pieces, there also exists a district of antique dealers.
How and when to go to the Bab Khemis market?
It is important to know that this is a market for locals. You will not find the same products as in the so-called “tourist” souk, the one near Jemaa El Fna Square.
Two spaces very close but distinct: the souk de Bab El Khemis with the boutiques of second-hand goods and antique dealers, as well as the workshops and the flea market itself.
The big door on the crossroads of the road to Fes leads you to the second-hand dealers, the merchants of clothes and inexpensive furniture, as well as the workshops of professionals. On the parking side, you will find mostly antique dealers.
Formerly known as the Thursday souk, as its name suggests, the souk of second-hand and antique dealers is now open every day. But some of the shops are closed on Fridays, the religious day. It is best to visit the flea market on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays when you will find more vendors.
See you soon in the alleys of Bab El Khemis
And if you don’t have the time to go there or the patience to rummage through the displays, you can browse our selections from the Ethnic Latitude or Vintage Latitude collections.