Christmas in Morocco (Howard Speaks) Day Four

The Souks are the alleys that lead from the square with literally hundreds of booths and shops of all sorts of "stuff" that anyone would not know that they needed or wanted. Shoes, clothes, spices, lamps, blankets, djelabas, jewelry, carved wooden items, leather, fruit, furniture, mirrors, tools, junk, etc,

The alleys have groupings, like all the shoe booths are generally together. It's probably the most organization you will see in Morocco. The alleys are covered and crowded, claustrophobic at times. The shoppers are a blend of Moroccans and Tourists from Other Lands.



Here is Kathy at a heavy negotiation for a mirror. When I was a kid and we lived in the Philippines, my mom used to haggle with street vendors all the time. She taught me to set the price you are willing to pay, put the money in your hand, talk them down to the general area of your price, wave the money in their face, and be able to walk away with conviction. I must say it seems to be a good strategy! We always got down below 50% of where we started, which shows you what the markup for Westerners is! We think we are pretty good negotiators but perhaps the merchants laugh at us when we leave! That's Ok, I don't mind being hustled, as long as I'm having fun and think I'm getting a deal!

There is a nice garden that was created in the 1920s by a French artist who settled in Morocco, which was bought by Yves St. Laurent in the 1970s. YSL died this year and his ashes are scattered in the garden. There is a huge collection of cactus and the buildings are painted in Moroccan colors.