Souk shopping in Marrakech

Marrakech. Before I visited this busy Moroccan city last week I asked friends, family and Twitter for tips and advice of what to do whilst there. The results of my research? An overwhelming warning that I would be on the receiving end of lots of hassle (especially, I was told, because I have blonde hair).

The truth? Well, yes – my sister and I did seem to get a lot of attention, but in reality it was because we were obviously Westerners and many of the locals deduced from this that we had a lot of money to spend at their shop/souk/stall (we didn’t!) With a quick smile and a ‘la shukran’ or ‘no merci’ (no thank you in Arabic and French) we were soon left alone as the vendors moved on to the next western-looking tourist.

But, with goods from spices to ceramics and clothing to shoes, we did want to shop.

Ceramics on sale in the Marrakech souks

I’d spoken to people who had haggled in markets worldwide, and had been told that the souks in Marrakech were by far the hardest to get away from without being forced into purchasing something. With this in mind, my sister and I decided to allocate a shopping day towards the middle of our week away, after we’d walked around the souks without entering any of the stalls and once we understood a bit more about the culture.

The truth of this? The experience was no way near as hard as we’d imagined. Of course, all the sellers wanted us to buy their stock but we didn’t find it anyway near as hard as we’d imagined to get a good deal on the products we wanted. Some tips for shopping in the souks of Marrakech include:

- Show little interest in the products (even if you feel you can’t live without those shoes, or that bag).
- Be aware of, and make sure that you can make quick currency conversions in your head.
- If you think the price you’re being offered is too high, then suggest a price slightly lower than that you’d be willing to pay – most of the time you’ll be persuaded to pay slightly higher than your suggestion.
- Don’t be afraid to walk away if the price remains to high.
- Never let anyone place anything in your hand/start packing products up for you – as this will make it even harder to walk away from the situation.

Colourful dates and nuts on sale

All in all, my sister and I both did fairly well at shopping in Marrakech – I managed to fill my luggage up with a lantern, a scarf, some beautiful cloth, some meat skewers, some postcards and a new leather bag (to take it all home in!). Yes, I probably paid over and above the price that a Moroccan would have paid, but most of the time I managed to purchase items for half the offered price or less, and more importantly, at a price that I was happy with.

Point proved by my new bag. I haggled the price down to half price and paid £21 – a decent price for a unique leather bag. Sadly, I saw this ‘unique’ leather bag on a market stall in Camden yesterday. Upsetting, as it means there is a chance I’ll see someone else wandering around London with the same bag as me – but as the Camden market seller was charging a massive £75 for it, I’ll sure feel smug if/when I do!

(NB: You’ll find the New Town just a short walk from the souks, but as I suspected in my last post, you won’t find much Moroccan culture here. Instead you can shop at Western stores, with no hassle from shopkeepers. A worthy trip if you’re spending a week in Marrakech, but if you’re only there for a short break I’d suggest giving it a miss in favour of more worthy attractions!)

In the heart of the souks