Shopping in Rabat

The beginning of my summer adventures in Morocco has arrived...

           After landing in Casablanca, I was transported safely to where my home-stay was destined to be: the beautiful Capital City of Morocco, Rabat. I'm taking two classes here in Morocco: Arabic and Oud (an instrument also known as the Lute). I think "excited" is an extreme understatement to how I feel at the moment. The country here is alive. People greeting others warmly at every corner, the smell of freshly squeezed orange juice and delectable mint tea drifting through the air, the small chatter among neighbors and louder, tame arguments of bargaining. Random cats scurry along the streets as buses, motorcycles, and cars drive quickly around the round-abouts. And best of all, I can hear my favorite sound over all the din: the sound of the ocean. The noise of the water is quickly rendered unnoticeable and habitual after a few minutes. But every so often, I remember to listen for it. 

           When it comes to traveling, I have an assortment of priorities. But today, I was especially keen on completing three tasks:

1. Meet and interact with host-family.

2. Stuff my face, because I was SO hungry getting off that plane. 

and 3. Shop for souvenirs. 

       
 I completed tasks 1 and 2 as soon as I arrived in Rabat. And so, it was time for the third task of the day: shopping. We headed to the souq, or the arabic word for a north-african / middle-eastern open-air market. Morocco has plenty of malls too, but I don't think malls can ever live up to open-air markets. Plus, I have plenty of malls in America I can go to when I'm home in Chicago.

All of these rugs are hand woven

Even the ceilings were detailed.

We arrive at a souq, and no exaggerations here, but EVERYTHING and I mean everything was stunning. The doors were ornately decorated, the ceilings were ridiculously detailed, there were radiant colors as far as the eye could see.

 Door to a Store

           I had to exercise an amount of self-control I didn't know I previously had, just to make sure I didn't purchase every, beautifully handcrafted item I saw (and store-owners' attempts to persuade me to buy their merchandise didn't help ease this difficulty...)

          Bargaining was ridiculously fun as well. In order to do so, you have to look at the item you want so very badly, and manage to look completely apathetic towards it, as if you don't mind if you get it or not (though in your head you're screaming I WANT IT). Once you get past that, you haggle the price a little, and if they don't budge, pretend you are about to merely leave the store. Whenever I'd aloofly walk away, I'd always here a "WAIT" and then a very good compromise for the price I wanted.

Morocco specializes in leather artifacts

      What amazed me was how perfectly symmetrical all the designs were...even though most were hand-made, they boasted the symmetry a machine made product would. I have quite a fondness for extremely detailed pieces. I understand that modern and sleek look simple and clean, but nothing beats symmetrical, detailed and classical pieces. 

         When I saw a lot of the goods in the souq, I could glimpse traditions, customs, and history. They were so rich in colors and small details that you could examine a seemingly small piece of pottery for an hour and still find new curves and designs on it.  Even the parts of the walls that  were crumbling or had cracks had beauty to them.  

           I'm also a huge fan of painting and art in general, and I came across the cutest little art shop with the most vibrantly colorful paintings (some of them are shown on the left). I wanted to stuff them all in my luggage and bring them back to Chicago with me. Sadly, that dream had to stay a dream....
I don't think I have enough room in luggage or money in my wallet to bring them all back...Maybe one day...
              I ended up buying a traditional Moroccan dress, a leather backpack, two leather jackets, and a bunch of key-chain souvenirs. This is obviously not the last of my souq shopping sprees. Next time, I'm going to try and see if I can watch the rugs being woven. 

Until then!