This year appears to have been the year of Africa. While we did lots of Europe, I'd done Europe before. But Africa had only been a trip to
Egypt until 2013. We did our
Kenya safari, then a work trip to
Cape Town turned up, and finally a girls weekend in Marrakech.
It's still been fun because, like Europe, each place I have visited has offered something new and different to the rest.
Marrakech was fun for me because it was a bit like a flash back to Istanbul. While it was more desert like and more Islamist compared to the secular Turkey, there were still things that got me flashing back to all my time in Turkey.
Like the cats on the street, the call to prayers, the headscarves and modest women.
But most of all, the markets. The souks in Marrakech aren't as grand as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, as you walk in the open air down a dust road. In many instances though, you find the same kinds of goods. Carpets, handmade purses and bags, wood carvings, tea sets and spices. And just like in Turkey, there is lots of haggling to be done.
I have never been a fan of haggling, despite many successful trips to
buy carpets in Istanbul. My success was always in finding a decent buyer with a decent (though usually not cheapest) price and always going back. This way, we know each other and bargaining was not necessary. Unfortunately, I did not have any favourites here, so I had to set out to bargain for a decent price.
While I won't mention what all I came back with (look out family for some Christmas presents!), I did pretty well overall. I won't say that I have missed that part of the bazaars in Turkey though.
After a full day of shopping, we popped up to a rooftop bar (for a soda, not a cocktail of course) to capture the beautiful sunset over the market place. Picture perfect ending to the day of shopping.
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