Marrakech At Sunset

At sunset, Marrakech's famed Djemaa el-Fna comes alive. Through the rising smoke of the food Stands, several hundred flickering yellow lanterns illuminate a turbulent sea Of hoods and veils. Crowds form around the most unusual spectacles, pausing to gape, then moving on. Mystics meet, spellbinders cast spells, witch doctors mix potions and leather-skinned old letter.writers rock back and forth on their haunches waiting for customers. Medicine men spread out gazelle skulls, dusty jars of horsehair and ancient medical texts. Old men dressed in white robes stand on wooden crates and shout the Wan to anyone who will listen. Colorfully clad women read your palms to tell your future.

Dentists with vise-grips pull teeth and display them proudly. Orphaned boys wear huge red wrestling gloves and swing punches to ohhs and ahhs while their street "father" passes the hat. In another whirlpool of bodies, an ensemble of sweaty men entice cobras to dance and a man with a curly mustache swallows his snake and regurgitates it minutes later. Don't miss the fire breathers, the shoe- shiners, the rubber band kids who do back flips off each other's shoulders, the midgets, the beggars, the troupe of transvestite belly dancers, the armless freak. Abandon the safety of your rooftop perch and wade Into the sea of people.