The Souks are the markets in the medinas (the old town) of Moroccan cities.
The Souk in Marrakech has a long history as the place where nomads who had crossed the Sahara desert and the Atlas mountains into Morocco and North Africa would meet and trade.
Like all the Medina, it is a labyrinth of twisting streets and alleys, some barely more than a meter wide, in which you have no real hope of orientating yourself. You can only throw yourself in, accept that you'll get lost, and trust to the fact that sooner or later you'll find yourself near a recognizable landmark. For the thousands of years the souk has existed this has been the case, skeletons of lost travellers who never escaped are rare occurances and getting lost is all part of the fun.

The Marrakchis go about their business in the souks, there are different souks for different goods, for herbs and spices, for leather, for metalwork, for fabrics, for woodwork, for fruit and vegatables etc, and they are all covered in this way to keep the heat of the day off of them.

It's difficult to describe the feel of these places, the senses are overwhelmed by the smells - cumin, jasmin, leather and brass polish, not to mention the stench of donkey crap and petrol fumes from the carts and motor-scooters that twist their way through the narrow alleys. And then there's the noise, the beeping of scooters asking people to move out of their way, the calls of the market traders trying to tempt you to look at their wares, the noise of the snake charmers' flutes off in the distance and the occasional wail of the muezzin, calling people to prayer in the mosques that regularly punctuate the souks.

In this shot I really wanted to capture the feel and life of the souks, the way that they are illuminated by shafts of sunlight cutting through the covered alleys.
The figures are intentionally blurred a little to capture their movement as they hurry along the street.

Taken in the Medina, Marrakesh, Morocco
Nikon D80 | Sigma 10-20mm

1/20 | f8 | 10mm
Processed RAW in Aperture, white balance and contrast adjusted. Framed in PS CS