Moroccan Traditions: Tea time in the Souks
While traveling all over Morocco, there are many Moroccan traditions to experience. One of my favorites is the Moroccan mint tea. You can get it everywhere in Morocco. It is so fresh and delicious! Within this tradition there is another opportunity to experience the Moroccan culture. While shopping the souks of Marrakech, I was honored to actually pull up a chair and live it first hand. What, you may ask, is this tradition?
Tea time in the Souks is one of the time honored Moroccan traditions that many shop owners love to partake in. When all the negotiations are finished and your merchandise is bought and paid for, the shop owner may just ask you to join him for some tea. When asked, I encourage you to accept their invitation. It is simply an act of friendship, that you will remember for the rest of your life.
Moroccan Traditions: My personal story
My tea experience was with a gentleman named Omar who I purchased purses and wallets from for Mariposa Skies. My friend and I had been to his shop the day before and I came back to purchase more of his wonderful merchandise. We negotiated our price and afterwards he asked if we would like to join him for tea. We, of course, gladly obliged! if there was one thing I couldn't get enough of in Morocco, it was the mint tea!
He ordered the tea, which he jokingly referred to as Berber Whiskey. I should note the humor behind this because the Berber people do not partake in drinking alcohol. It is according to their customs, but they do drink a lot of mint tea.
The Berber people, also known to many as the Moors, are from Northern Africa. Their customs are old and from ancient times. Omar was from the south of Morocco. He was of Berber decent and spoke Berber, Arabic, French and English.
As he poured the tea moving the silver kettle up high into the air (the traditional way of pouring Moroccan mint tea-it leaves the tea frothy and delightful!) we talked about each others families. I found out his family was very much like my own. Omar's wife was a teacher, as was my mom. He had two sons and one daughter, the same as my family-two older brothers and myself being the youngest girl.
He asked if we were enjoying Marrakech, to which we enthusiastically said, YES! Though our time was brief, Omar is a person I will forever remember. His presence was loving and gentle. He was genuine and wholehearted. You may ask how I know all this to be true? The fact is I don't, but what my instinct told me, what my heart said to believe, was that he embodied the essence of the Moroccan traditions. This man was a true example of the soul of who the Moroccan people truly are.
Moroccan Traditions: It can change your perspective, if you let it
The Moroccan traditions are simple and warming, but have such a life changing impact, if you allow them to. Moroccans are beautiful people who welcome strangers into their customs, home, and hearts to drink and have tea with them. I distinguish the two because you can drink tea almost anywhere in Morocco, but to truly have tea with a Moroccan will change your perspective. It will give you a glimpse into a culture, a tradition, and a person -reminding you to be kind, generous, and open to each other's experiences.
I will never forget my tea time in the souks it changed my perspective on how a simple act of offering tea to a stranger can impact them the rest of their life.
Now you too can add these looks to your everyday style. And when asked where you got that fantastic purse from (because you most definitely will be asked!) you can proudly tell the story of the Moroccan shop owner who not only sells purses, but welcomes people into his world with a smile and his Moroccan traditions of mint tea.
If you would like to check out Omar's purses and other fashion from the souks, click the image below or here.
To connect to someone else's culture through the traditions of their fashion, you can also check out these fashions from Bali and Argentina:
I hope you found this post on Moroccan traditions, tea time in the souks informative and useful. Please feel free to share it with your friends on Facebook and Pinterest. Thank you for taking the time to read it!
See how traditional Moroccan mint tea is poured by expert and friend Omar.
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