A must have experience of visiting a country like Morocco is getting a traditional carpet. My uncle has a couple he got from when he lived in Iran in 1970s.
This is a big grand place, there was a loom upstairs with a part finished one, but don’t think the actual manufacturing is done here.
Notice the DHL poster. As part of the deal on a larger carpet, the vendor says shipping is included. One of the very large ones hung up had a price tag of $10,000
In the true style of business in this part of the world, selling handicrafts has to be done an aggressive and fun way. Here at this shop, we are given a tour of the place, some mint tea and a selection of carpets brought out for our perusal.
I think only myself and this American Jewish girl who was with our youth hostel bought a carpet (which hers was $200) which was meant to be a traditional Berber Jewish style pattern did some buying.
The purple one in the top right is now mine 🙂 I think I got it for about £65 in the end. There are cheers from the owner and his assistants as we each go over to the credit card terminals. Its part of a big well rehearsed act, even though there is guilt as I try and work out how much money I have spent over my intended budget this week.
The owner says these carpets are all made unique, they will appreciate with age as an investment and could be resold at an auction.
I call mine a magic carpet, just as Morocco is a kind of magical place and it will be something to remember these fascinating places. I was asked to give one of shop workers a small tip as he bundles the carpets upto into a neat sausage shaped bag to squeeze into my flight case for later.
After all this hard work negotiating with eager shop keepers, its time for lunch with the folks I met at my youth hostel.
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