Souk Zrabia Carpet Marrakech
What is Souk Zrabia, the carpet souk of the Marrakech Medina?
Souk Zrabia, also called Souk Zrabi or La Criée Berbère, is the old carpet market of the Marrakech Medina. Zrabi means carpets in Darija, and this small square is where rugs from the Atlas villages have been brought, unrolled and sold for generations. It sits right next to Rahba Kedima, the spice square, in the heart of the souks. Walls covered in Beni Ourain, Azilal, kilims and Chichaoua rugs, a smooth floor where carpets are spread for buyers, and a story far older than the rug trade itself. Our Private Medina Walking Tour takes you through it with the stories, and our Private Souks Shopping Tour shows you the souks around it, from the wool sellers to the leather merchants.
Private Medina Walking Tour
Your own local guide, every day at 9 am or 2 pm, about 3 hours, with pickup at your riad.
Included a relaxing stop at a traditional herbalist and spice cooperative, just to learn, with no obligation to buy, with a bottle of mineral water, a cup of mint tea and a small souvenir, all complimentary.
See prices and details on our Private Medina Walking Tour page.
Message Us On WhatsApp or use our Booking Form.
Most visitors walk past Souk Zrabia without knowing they've just crossed one of the most meaningful squares of the old city. This guide isn't about how to buy a rug. It's about the place itself, where it is, what happened here, what you see on its walls today and how to read it like a local.
Visit Marrakech Medina, The Best Shopping and Walking Tour Company in Marrakech, has guided travelers through the Medina since 2004. Our Medina walking tour is featured by Daniel Jacobs in The Rough Guide To Morocco, which says our guide “guarantees (unlike most guides) not to stop at any shops”. Our guiding is also Recommended By Rick Steves.
Choose your tour
• Who Can Tell You The Real Story Of The Carpet Square? Our private walking tour, the souks, the Kasbah, the Mellah, hidden derbs and the herbalist.
• Which Souks Surround The Carpet Market? Our private souks shopping tour, wool, leather, metal, spices and lanterns from the artisans.
• Where Do Locals Buy Their Rugs With Confidence? Our private rug shopping tour, weaving cooperatives, Beni Ourain, Azilal and kilims.
• Can Your Family Explore The Souks With Its Own Guide? All our tours are private, one guide, one group, one truly personal experience.
• Can You See The Carpet Souk With A Guide Today? Last-minute private tours, often within the hour.
Where exactly is Souk Zrabia in the Medina?
Souk Zrabia is a small, enclosed square on the northeast side of Rahba Kedima. From the spice square, a short covered passage leads into it. You can also reach it from Souk Semmarine, by turning right into Souk El Kebir, the big souk of the leather merchants, a little after the start of Souk Attarine.
It's a perfect example of our H Rule. Semmarine on one side, the Biadine and Rahba Kedima axis on the other, and the carpet square sitting in between, close to both. Once you know this, you never really get lost in this part of the souks. See the full picture in Main Routes From Jemaa El-Fna To The Souks.
• Jemaa El-Fna To Rahba Kedima And The Carpet Souk about 500 meters, 7 minutes through the souks
• Souk Semmarine To The Carpet Souk about 300 meters, 4 minutes
• The Carpet Souk To Le Jardin Secret about 400 meters, 6 minutes
• The Carpet Souk To The Ben Youssef Madrasa about 600 meters, 9 minutes
The carpet souk, like the rest of the old city, is part of the Medina Of Marrakech, A UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Why is the carpet souk also called La Criée Berbère?
Criée means auction in French. For a long time, goods were sold here by criers who walked around the square calling out the bids. The square has a painful past too, and we never hide it from our guests. Before it became a carpet market, this was where enslaved people, most of them brought across the Sahara from sub-Saharan Africa, were auctioned. That trade ended at the beginning of the 20th century, with the start of the French protectorate.
Today, the same square is filled with the work of women weavers from the mountains. We think it's important to tell both stories. The Medina isn't a postcard, it's a city with a long memory, and understanding that memory is part of respecting it. You'll find more stories that guidebooks leave out in What Can't You Find In Other Marrakech Guides?
How did the old carpet auction work?
Traditionally, families from the Atlas villages brought their rugs down to Marrakech, often a whole season of weaving. They didn't sell directly to the shops. They handed the rugs to a dellal, a crier, who carried each carpet on his shoulder around the square, calling out the latest bid. Shopkeepers from the souks and dealers made their offers as he passed. When the bidding stopped, the dellal returned to the seller, who accepted or took the rug home.
It was fast, public and transparent. Everyone heard every price. It's also why the rug dealers of the souks are some of the best judges of wool and knots in the country, many of them learned by watching thousands of carpets go round this square. The same auction system once ruled many trades in the Medina, from second-hand clothes to jewelry.
What do you see in Souk Zrabia today?
Look up first. Carpets hang from the walls and rooftops of the shops around the square, layer over layer, like a gallery of the whole of Morocco. Then look down. The square's smooth floor is where rugs are unrolled for buyers, so they can see the full design in daylight.
• Beni Ourain thick, soft, cream-colored wool with black or brown lines, from the tribes of the Middle Atlas
• Azilal bright colors and free, almost playful designs on a white background, from the High Atlas
• Chichaoua deep red rugs with simple symbols, woven not far from Marrakech
• Kilims and hanbels flat-woven rugs, lighter and easy to pack
• Boucherouite joyful rag rugs made from recycled fabrics
• Taznakht and Akhnif fine rugs and capes from the region of the Siroua, with natural dyes
• Old and vintage rugs pieces with decades of life in them, their colors softened by time
Why so much red? For the Amazigh people, red is the color of life, not danger, and it appears in rugs, in the walls of Marrakech and in the clothes of the villages. Each symbol woven into a rug has a meaning too, protection, fertility, the eye, the path. Learn how to read them in What Do The Symbols On Moroccan Rugs Mean?
Which souks are around the carpet market?
Souk Zrabia is part of a small world of textile and craft souks, all within a few minutes on foot.
• Rahba Kedima the spice square, with herbalists, baskets, hats and the women selling bread and crochet
• Souk Eloustat, Wool, Fabrics And Wooden Spoons where you see the wool before it becomes a rug
• Souk Sebbaghine, The Dyers' Souk where skeins of wool are dyed and hung to dry
• Souk El Kebir, The Leather Merchants bags, belts and babouches just next door
• Souk Semmarine, The Main Street Of The Souks the covered street that leads you back to Jemaa el-Fna
Together, they tell the full story of a rug, from the sheep of the Atlas to the wool sellers, the dyers, the weavers and finally the carpet square.
How is visiting Souk Zrabia different from a rug shopping tour?
The carpet souk is a place to look, learn and feel the history. You can walk in, admire the walls, watch rugs being unrolled and leave without buying anything. Shopkeepers will invite you in for tea, and a polite “just looking, thank you” is always fine.
Buying a rug is a different journey. It takes time, knowledge of wool, knots and dyes, and a good sense of what a fair deal looks like. That's why we keep the two apart. On our walking tour, we pass through the carpet souk for its story, without stopping to sell. If you'd like to buy, our rug tour takes you to weavers and cooperatives we know, with a guide on your side. Before you decide, read Do You Need A Guide To Buy A Rug In Marrakech?
How should you visit the carpet souk?
• Come in the morning the light is softer and the square is calmer, before the afternoon crowds
• Look before you enter a shop the square itself is free to walk through and admire
• Accept tea only if you want to stay mint tea is a welcome, but it often opens a long sales talk
• Ask before photographing most shopkeepers are happy to say yes
• Touch the wool gently real wool feels slightly greasy and springs back, it's the first lesson every local learns
• Don't follow strangers people offering to show you “the real carpet market” or a “Berber cooperative closing today” usually lead you to a shop of their choice
• Take a break above the square the roof terraces around Rahba Kedima are perfect for a tea, see Where To Stop For Mint Tea During A Medina Walk
More tricks to avoid in How Do You Avoid The Tourist Traps Of The Souks?
Which riads are close to Souk Zrabia?
Several riads sit just a few minutes from Rahba Kedima and the carpet souk. Each link opens the walking route from the riad. We pick our guests up at their riad, wherever it is in the Medina.
• From Riad Lalla Aicha To The Carpet Souk about 2 minutes on foot
• From Riad Quenza To The Carpet Souk about 3 minutes on foot
• From Riad Zarka To The Carpet Souk about 4 minutes on foot
• From Riad Christina In Derb Dabachi To The Carpet Souk about 6 minutes on foot
• From Riad Mauresque To The Carpet Souk about 6 minutes on foot
• From Riad Linda To The Carpet Souk about 6 minutes on foot
• From Riad Andalla To The Carpet Souk about 7 minutes on foot
• From Riad L'Emir In Kennaria To The Carpet Souk about 8 minutes on foot
Walking times are approximate and depend on the exact entrance of each riad.
Explore every quarter of the old city in our Marrakech Medina Guide, Quarter By Quarter, and meet the craftsmen of the souks in Who Are The Last Artisans Of The Marrakech Medina?
What Happens On A Real Tour With Us?
Traveler from the United Kingdom
"Our guide made sure we saw the highlights and the hidden places too."
What Do Our Guests Usually Ask On The Tour?
Family from Canada
"He explained the history in a way that kept our whole family engaged."
What Surprises Travelers Most On Our Walks?
Traveler from the United States
"Our guide's passion for the city really shows."
Our tours are rated 5 stars on Google. Read Our Google Reviews
Ready to hear the story of the carpet square? Book On WhatsApp for a fast reply, or use our Booking Form.
Who Wrote This Guide?
This guide was written by the Local Team of Visit Marrakech Medina, Marrakchis who were born and raised in the Medina and have guided travelers through its souks, squares and derbs since 2004. Our Medina walk is featured in The Rough Guide to Morocco, and our guiding is recommended by Rick Steves. Everything here comes from what we see and hear on our tours every day.
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Visit Marrakech Medina is an independent local specialist resource dedicated to discovering and understanding the Marrakech Medina. Our Marrakchi team has been guiding visitors through the Medina since 2004. We share firsthand local knowledge of its traditional souks, streets and derbs, neighbourhoods, historic gates, squares, monuments, artisan workshops, traditional crafts, architecture and everyday life. Our guides explore the history, geography, traditions and authentic character of the Medina, providing detailed information about the places, people and activities that make Marrakech's old city unique.
This guide is part of our coverage of the traditional souks and markets of Marrakech Medina.
Discover our full range of authentic Marrakech tours on our Visit Marrakech Medina homepage.