Morocco: Marrakesh – Spice District aka Rahba Kedima

Everybody goes to the super touristy and kitschy main square in Marrakesh, but a real hidden gem is Rahba Kedima – a square and narrow surrounding streets in the heart of Marrakesh’s Casbah that are dedicated to spice markets. Once a week, the streets and small hole-in-the-wall shops explode with mountains and piles of colorful spices. In Morocco, spices are used for everything – from tagines in cuisine to skin and body works, to smells, to paints and decor, and so on. You can find anything and everything here – saffron, cumin, turmeric, paprika, ginger, caraway, aniseed, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, and combo spices like harissa and ras el hanout. Once you are done with spices, you can find various colorful concoctions to cure any ailments (or at least the sellers think so).