Le Jardin aux Etoiles
Riad between Agadir and Taroudant, in southern Morocco
Holiday rental with a resident of Swiss nationality
 Outdoor landscapingMade with care |  One of the nine doorsWashington palm trees are everywhere. Photo by Chantal Heniry. |  Fruits and vegetablesA very wide diversity |  Scents and colorsThe people of Agadir come in droves to do their daily shopping at the El Had souk |  Some 6,000 shopsThe souk El Had is the largest in Morocco |  You can find everything at the souk El HadIn an atmosphere like no other |
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 End-of-day atmosphereSkewers galore |
Souk El Had of Agadir: the largest in Morocco
Located in the center of Agadir, the souk El Had covers an area of 12 hectares. It includes 6,000 shops arranged by product family, as well as nine gates, equipped with as many open-air car parks, where one circulates in a joyful din. It is surrounded by walls six meters high. It is the largest souk in Morocco. We get there in about three quarters of an hour.. Whether or not you shop there, its aisles rich in colors and scents are a sight you must have seen, as you must have been to Ouled Teima souk, very close to the Jardin aux Etoiles.
Dans le style régional.
Ici la Porte Taroudant.
En l'honneur de la ville qui fut la capitale culturelle du Maroc sous les Saadiens.
Des habitants d'Agadir, mais aussi des touristes.
Le souk El Had est constitué d'armatures en fer.
Une des cultures principales de la région d'Agadir
Du monde entre les tapis
On trouve tous les volatiles possibles au souk El Had
On trouve de tout au souk El Had
Attentions à l'arnakech !
Oui, et pressé tout frais devant vous.
A la sortie du souk, on trouve toutes sortes de marchands et de produits à manger sur place.
Tourists are easy prey for traders in a souk. Be careful, but don't give up the pleasure of haggling, as long as the shopkeepers do not go beyond the limits of reason! If the merchant knows how to do it with his patter, we will put up with it, knowing that by his generosity we will have contributed to the family tajine in the evening...
Live animals and decorative objects
In the souk of Agadir, tradition has its place. There are many living animals there: poultry of all kinds and all colors, which will be plucked and killed in front of you. Sensitive souls refrain ! There are also more unexpected animals, such as chameleons.
To imagine the souk only as an expression of the past would be to commit an error of judgment. The Gadiris largely do most of their daily shopping at the souk El Had. And the latter is up to date. On the clothing side, you will find the latest fashion, especially for men. Credit cards are also accepted by many merchants.
In this gridded immensity, between carpets, fruits, vegetables and souvenirs, you sometimes have to ask for directions. Nevertheless, it is quite easy to unearth beautiful decorative objects, such as colored goatskin lamps, of which you will find a whole collection at the Jardin aux Etoiles. Moroccan craftsmen excel in the art of brassware. Hence an abundance of very pretty metal lamps and lanterns. However, check their quality carefully. Rightly or wrongly, those from Marrakech are known to turn into scams, insofar as they risk being dismantled quickly. In any case, this is what the craftsmen of Agadir claim... and what we have also verified. So pay attention to the arnakech !
No poufs!
On the other hand, do not look for poufs in Berber fabrics or camel skin. There is none in souk El Had, verification made. Those on which you can stretch out in front of the fireplace in the Atlas Lounge derived from Taroudant and of Marrakesh.
Dès la tombée de la nuit, il s’illumine par un jeu de lumières
Des façades embellies d’arcades et de motifs de schiste noir
Tout est inspiré des lois qui régissent l’univers.
A mosque inside the souk
The El Had souk includes an intramural mosque. This shrine is called "Annour", which means light. It is a new construction, which succeeded the previous mosque, which had become too small and had suffered from the wear and tear of time. The new minaret rises 30 meters. Between the ground floor and the ground floor, the establishment can accommodate up to 1,500 men and on a mezzanine some 400 women.
Its facades are embellished with arcades and black schist patterns, earth constructions, colonnades covered with excised sand and earth colored zelliges, Smara stone foundations and handcrafted earth brick domes. Inside, the ornaments offered a wide variety of patterns inspired by Moroccan geometric art which alternates solids, voids, changes of materials and colors. The abundance of techniques and materials used gives pride of place to patterns in carved cedar wood, monochrome zellige and "gebs", hand-chiselled patterns.
The Souk El Had (which means "Sunday market") is open every day, except Monday (cleaning day).
The other souks of Souss that are worth a visit:
Ouled Teima Souk (particularly busy on Thursdays)