Why hello June (well almost!) and welcome to our next travel link up with Emma, Rebecca and our co-host for the month Jaime from Angloyankophile. This month it’s all about souvenirs so I thought it would be fun to share my tales from souvenir shopping in Marrakech. Welcome to Aladdin’s Cave!
While I like a good shopping mall, I literally have kittens when I get into a souq and I just want to buy everything! See, kittens….
G on the other hand hates shopping so after shopping together and only purchasing water and a couple of little pairs of babouches for Hunter and Gemma in New Zealand, I dropped G off at the spa.
So losing the male handbrake…I went on a little shopping adventure by myself. Excited much…..and I had all the money…….
I had fallen in love with the lanterns at La Mamounia and I found the workshop that made them for the hotel. Then I had shopping guilt as I remembered that we’re going to Hong Kong in July so left without buying anything….only to tell G later who said for goodness sake just by the lanterns! I didn’t as we’re going to Hong Kong but I will be back to buy them!
I entered the souq and got myself into a tizz over these teapots…I wanted them all…but just couldn’t make up my mind! Maybe I should have just bought them all…a tea pot for each day of the month seems perfectly reasonable.
And then the mirrors which I’ve never being fussed with in my life before…I suddenly felt the need to buy 20 of them…I was the nutter in the souq talking to myself…do you really need that mirror…of course I do…but where would I put it…we can extend the house….
The following day I entered the souq with a guide as I wanted to photograph doors…we entered an antique store where the owner wanted me to buy all the doors…which in fairness if we extended the house again so I could buy the 20 mirrors I wanted then I would need doors.
My guide was like my dad…I actually called him my Moroccan daddy…that sounds dodgy now that I write it…but he had my back when I was haggling (that sounds even dodgier…)
After a chat about Marrakech losing it’s authenticity and becoming a tourist trap I wanted to see if there were any traditional items that are still available in the souq now and here they are…I actually thought these were cute! Many of the shop owners have changed their stock to include lanterns, scarves and whatever else tourists are wanting to buy…sad times really!
I was tempted to buy my daddy an antique camel saddle for his christmas present…he can be so difficult to buy for at christmas time…and the perfect gift for that person that has everything. The camel would obviously be his birthday present!
After buying really nothing all weekend, my guide took me into the most beautiful lamp shop in Marrakech…huge buyers regret for not buying these beauties but right here folks is the reason why I will be returning to Marrakech!
There was one item that I really wanted to pick up while shopping in Marrakech and that was a beautiful silver necklace…I really like silver…I’m a cheap date at times regardless of what G tells everyone.
I really wanted this necklace however the shop owner wasn’t going to come down much from his silly starting price of US$900 and my Moroccan daddy for the day gave me a little talking too…basically it went like this…
But of course the Moroccan version…and yes he was dreaming.
Leaving Morocco with only the bag felt slightly wrong but alas…next time!
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xx
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