Dress shop

Semmarine, Marrakech-Medina

We are now just inside a woman's dress shop in the main commercial market, or Semmarine, in Marrakech. In fact, this is Mohammed's shop--the same Mohammed whose family and house we visited elsewhere in the old city, or medina, of Marrakech.

Mohammed, who is visible on the left, is surrounded by bolts of cloth and some already made djellabas, the women's garment that Mohammed sells. Mostly, women come, select a cloth they like, and then the workers in Mohammed's shop will take orders, measurements, and in a few days, the djellaba is ready. Of course, none of this takes place without a lot of bargaining for price beforehand.

The shop is only 12 feet wide. It is surrounded by other dress shops just about like it. The specialization of economic activity is high.

An American woman is visiting and sits in the shop; she is about to order a djellaba to take back to the States.