The short answer
It is the most common trick in the medina. A friendly stranger tells you the square, the souk or the museum ahead is closed today, closed for prayer or 'only for Muslims', and offers to show you another way. The other way ends at a shop, a tannery or a demand for money. Smile, say no thanks and keep going.
In more detail
The approach is usually unprompted and polite, often from a young man who seems to be helping. Sometimes the story changes: the tanneries are 'only open today', or a Berber festival is on and you should hurry. The detour can be long and confusing, which is the point. Once you are lost, you are more likely to accept a paid way back.
The medina rarely closes a main route, and streets do not close for tourists. Treat any unsolicited 'it's closed, follow me' as your cue to say 'la, shukran' and carry on along the line you were already walking. If you are genuinely unsure, check an offline map, or ask a shopkeeper who is sitting at their own stall rather than someone who walked up to you.
A close cousin is the 'friendly local' who walks you back towards your riad and then asks for cash, and the shopkeeper who offers a rooftop view over Jemaa el-Fna and then presses you to buy. The answer is the same each time: know your route in, and do not trail anyone who approached you first.
Good to know
- Download the medina on an offline map before you arrive.
- To visit the tanneries, take a petit taxi to Bab Debbagh and walk in yourself.
- If someone turns pushy, walk towards a shop, a café or a tourist police officer.