Kissaria of Hay Mohammadi, around 2 p.m., the darts of the summer sun are becoming increasingly oppressive. The surroundings of the famous commercial zone are teeming with people in a particular effervescence. Commercial activity is in full swing, with the usual crowding and the "invasions" of pavements, roads, and public places by businesses that flourish during this period. This effervescence also captures the attention of all households. Whatever the budget, Ramadan has its requirements, its "chhiwates" and its dishes. "We eat more with our eyes. Throughout Morocco, the table served at the time of the ftour must be well-stocked, with all kinds of delicacies," explains Meryem, a young mother, while choosing some meloui (pancakes), which will be added to her countless other purchases. Unable to prepare everything she needs herself, she comes once or twice a week to buy pancakes that she will serve during the week. "I am not a housewife, so I don't have the luxury of eating homemade pancakes. But in Hay Mohammadi, there are women who sell everything we might need, and they do it themselves, these are homemade products like the ones we prepare at home," she adds. Baghrir (pancake), Msemmen (layered pancake), chebbakia, briwate, pastilla, etc., the women of Casablanca are busy, sparing neither time nor money, to decorate their ftour tables well. To attract as many customers as possible, but also to retain old customers, the sellers of Hay Mohammadi compete in creativity. In front of the doors leading to the Kissaria, several women have set up small spaces where small tables, stoves, and gas cylinders, as well as various ingredients, are summarily stored. They have this ability – not to say habit – of calling out to passers-by, potential buyers, even when they are already busy with another customer. They offer, for the majority of them, baghrir prepared on the spot or at home. The prices are unified. A true, pure, and perfect competition characterises the commercial activity of these ladies whose merits are no longer to be demonstrated. In this sense, at the head of these individual "businesses" are female heads of families, whose husbands are sick, retired, unemployed… or even young unemployed girls. The month of Ramadan allows them to double their turnover. "I have been selling baghrir for years, it allows me to support my family. But during Ramadan, I sell twice as much! There are women who come almost every day to take the same order, others come to do their shopping on a weekly basis. The clientele is varied and the most important thing is that I make my cash register work!" asserts Fatima. A little further on, it is the chebbakia sellers who attract attention. Traders, who are used to selling cakes, turn to the sale of chebbakia and the famous "sellou", a subtle mixture of cooked flour, honey, butter, crushed almonds and walnuts, sesame seeds, and many other ingredients with magical flavours as the holy month approaches. Given the influx and demand, these sellers, who change trades at will, do not hesitate to recruit more staff. "I take advantage of the month of Ramadan to make a little pocket money," explains Youssef, who only finds work during this period. The rest of the year he is unemployed. The demand, which is already very high around 3 p.m., reaches its zenith just after the Al-Asr prayer, before sellers and customers return home to wait for the time of the ftour. Hymn to traditional clothing Ramadan marks the "reconciliation" of the women of Casablanca with traditional clothing. Inside the Kissaria of Hay Mohammadi, it is the seamstresses who are popular! They are installed on stools, directly facing their sewing machines. Two weeks before Eid, they already have several orders. "Not everyone can afford to have a djellaba made by a well-known tailor, it costs too much. We offer those who cannot afford it the possibility of wearing, at an affordable price, a new garment," asserts Daouiya, one of the seamstresses installed in the square. Surrounded by bags full of fabrics, threads of different colours, and a few metres of "sfifa" (a type of embroidery used for the finishes of the sleeves, collar, and edges), she undertakes to pass a few pieces of fabric under the needle of her sewing machine to make a djellaba. Her daughter, installed a few steps away from her, has inherited the same trade for years. Like mother, like daughter, one is tempted to say!