One of the delights of North Africa for me is haggling. For some reason I’m quite good at it. Morocco is a very male dominated society and the shopkeepers find it very strange when I do the bartering while Commando stands by and watches. On our penultimate full day in Agadir we decided to take a little trip to the souk to see if I still had the knack.
11 August 2012
This morning our pool man had bagged us our loungers and The sea mist was still covering the beach as we went down to breakfast. The plan for the day was to go to the souk to get some more tea glasses as we only have two left of the ones I bought the first time I was in Morocco. They’re so pretty and just right for my morning orange juice, pity they’re so fragile. I thought I might look at the brightly coloured silk throw/pashmina things too. I have a few of them at home already, some I’ve made into big cushions for our living room and one is a matching runner for our coffee table. It would be a test for my bartering skills.
The walk to the souk and back took an hour, plus we wandered around inside for about another hour, so I guess that is my daily exercise taken care of. Away from the sea breeze it was HOT! We walked up past the kings palace, which is enormous and surrounded by more armed guards than usual. I wondered if his highness was at home and joked with Commando that I should have come out here when I was still young and slim and married the king, he’s about the right age for me and very handsome. Then I could have been queen Fat Girl Slim of Morocco.
“They’d have to change your name as it’s far too English,” he said. “What about Queen Fatima?” It does have a certain ring to it.
I managed to haggle my way to some more blue tea glasses, more or less the same as the two of six I still have at home. I’m pleased about that although I’m not so sure the shop keeper is quite as pleased as I got a very good price. I also got a lovely, ornately decorated red pashmina and four little wooden camels for my girls at home. The camel man drove a hard bargain but he couldn’t resist the blue eyes in the end, or my “Ok, I’ll walk away then,” tactic.
As it’s Ramadan the souk was quite quiet so we didn’t get too much “Madam, Monsieur, voici, moins cher,” or “Come into my shop, I give you good price,” today. I did get one “Mademoiselle,” though which made me smile. Flattery will get you nowhere, although it does boost the confidence. The best bit is the fruit, vegetables and spices. We must have walked past three or four times just for the smell. I have enough Moroccan spices at home to last me a lifetime but you can’t beat the smell in the souk, especially the herbs. The scent of fresh mint and corriander was amazing.
Due to my pinkness I’m largely staying out of the sun today. Commando is currently snoring gently on the sun bed next to me and I’m under the umbrella hoping my pink bits turn brown shortly and don’t peel. I can hear the call to prayer drifting out from the mosque so I’m guessing it must be close to three o’clock. We’ve had a light lunch and I’ve been to the shop to stock up on big bottles of water. It makes you realise how much you’re drinking when you have to lug it all back from the shops in bottles instead of just turn on a tap. We’re getting through literally tons of the stuff.
I’d love to smell all of those herbs and spices too!
They’re very colourful but it’s the smell that’s so wonderful.