Medina life: Djemaa el-Fna Square جامع الفناء

Looking out from a rooftop cafe, as the day comes to rest, the Djemaa el-Fna Square shows no sign of slowing or stopping. Every colour, every sight, every sound, every scent seems to pass through here - a spaghetti junction of chaos, flowing in perfect concert with each other. Great clouds of smoke rise above stalls of cooking food, incubating the sense of vibrant claustrophobia within these Medina walls. Drums bang, donkeys bray, cymbals clash, cries rise, horns honk, horses' hooves clip clop, bells chime, chairs drag, a child's yellow balloon is carried on the silent wind, drifting past spices and saffron, ochre robes, the rose walls, the pale blue skies, silhouettes of palm trees breaking the Atlas skyline, lanterns begin to blink into life as armies of motorbikes zip and dart through the thin and narrow gaps that flinch between people.

Despite the perfect chaos, everything flows in a gentle harmony. There is a civilised feeling of reassurance here. No fear - no need. There is much vibrant energy - abundant and enough to share. The Djemaa el-Fna Square is unique in the sense of its energising generosity; you can't help but feel elated being in amongst this - privileged almost. And there is so much "this" to experience - orange juice stalls, water sellers, snake charmers, dancers, drummers, story tellers engaging audiences in both Berber and Arabic, magicians, herbalists, the Hand of Fatima, blind beggers, bakers, schools, scooters, steam rooms, souks, markets, mystics, mosques, lamps, candles, incense, oils, the Call to Prayer, and a ceaseless tide of appreciative people pouring in and out in equal measure (calm and content).

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If ever proof was needed that we can never repeat any experience here on Earth in a perfect replication of those gone before - much like the waves of the sea cannot repeat themeselves in a storm - then the Djemaa el-Fna is the ideal place to support that theory; the past has gone, and what we have today will not be the same tomorrow. Paths are made by walking, when we flow with the perfect chaos that surrounds us all for just a brevity of time, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities arise.