Why couscous on Friday?

After the noon prayer at the mosque, families gather around a single platter of couscous topped with seven vegetables and lamb or chicken. Everyone eats from the section directly in front of them. It's both an Islamic observance and a pre-Islamic Amazigh tradition — couscous itself is Amazigh, the Arabs adopted it later — and Friday is when most Moroccan homes serve it.

Restaurants and food stalls follow. Wednesday and Saturday menus across Marrakech and Fes feature tagine; Friday menus pivot to couscous. Most riads serve it as the Friday lunch by default, and many shops close from noon to around 3 pm for prayer and the meal.

Seven vegetables — carrot, turnip, courgette, pumpkin, cabbage, onion, chickpea — is the canonical count, with regional variations. The number is symbolic rather than strict; the dish itself is the point.