Marrakesh Shopping Tips by Bigjones

Le souk: Ali Baba's cave

This is were you can find everything. In Marrakesh, the souk is pretty big and you can get lost very easily. But generally, you can find the same kinds of shops at the same place. For example, all "babouche" stalls together, the same for "tajines", spices, lamps, ceddar wood, "cheichs", bread, fruits and vegetables, make up, clothes etc.

What to pay: You can buy whatever you want but be aware that you should bargain. And this can take a lot of time and be very annoying. The sellers usually consider tourists as a "money pump" and try to get as much money as they can from them. They begin with a very expensive price. The best thing to do according to me is to know exactly the amount of money you want to spend on something and never exceed this amount. Then you can begin with a lower price and increase it until your limit is reached while the seller decreases his price. May be you can find an agreement very easily, may be not. I heard that it can sometimes take a few days. If you disagree, you can say that you want to check prices in another shop. Sometimes they let you go, sometimes they agree with your price.
Like it or not, it's a local custom ;-)

Theme: Department Store

In every "souk": Don't forget your "cheich" !

Before going to the desert, don't forget to buy a cheich, it can be very useful. It protects again the sun, the sand storms, the cold and the rain. Indeed, it sometimes rains in the desert ! I would have never thought. But we got the proof of it when we were in Merzouga ;-)

What to pay: About 20-25 dh

Theme: Other