Magic Carpets
There are magic carpets everywhere in Morocco and if you are in search of an adventure to find textiles for your home- Marrakesh is well worth a visit. With flights direct from Dublin to Marrakesh with Ryanair it is more accessible than ever to discover the splendours Moroccan textiles have to offer. All you need is an extra suitcase to carry your wares home.
The carpet is very much woven into Moroccan culture, you’ll find intricately woven carpets on the floors of riads, restaurants and hotels, being used for prayers and in the many stalls of the souks in the medina of Marrakesh. You’ll find them hung up in the souks or draped (to dry) over buildings (as seen in the picture above). You’ll also find them being dyed and finished right in front of your eyes. There is also the most dazzling range of styles to choose from with each carpet working a unique combination of colours, patterns, piles and techniques (most of them handmade by the Berber tribe) for sale in the souks.
The souks however are not for the faint of heart, they are not easy to navigate as there are no consistent street signs and most maps don’t give exact details of all the alleyways connecting each bustling street and square. And as a woman on her own, or in my case with two female friends there is a lot of heckling and boldness. So between the heckling and haggling, the telling of tall tales and offers of mint tea it can be a daunting exercise. As a proud owner of a small Moroccan carpet I have been in the deepest darkest souks and come out the other end to tell the tale. So here is my (survivors) guide to looking for and buying the carpet of your dreams in Marrakesh.
Do your research– Get to know the souks, sellers and types of carpets you are looking for by reading up on it before you go- as much as you can do in advance. The souks of Marrakesh are famous for being a labyrinthine network of streets that EVERYONE will get lost in and only the savviest of souk merchants will know their way around. However, each type of craft has its own street and guide-books will direct you to each quarter. If carpets are your thing head straight to this quarter. There are also streets in the souks dedicated to silver, woodworking, leather goods, pottery and foods. I found the stalls with some of the best carpets were in an enclosed market behind the Place des Epices which also has the wonderful Cafe des Epices (this is a great landmark and watering hole in the souk itself). Here you will find some of the best carpet stalls in the souks. Beware though these guys really know their wares, have high quality items and are the toughest to bargain with.
Choose a style- this seems like an obvious thing to say but once you hit the souks you will be overwhelmed by the pattern and colour and sheer magnitude of carpets and rugs on offer. High pile carpets are expensive but you can find kellims which are woven rather than knotted carpets if you prefer something smaller for your home. To understand the styles of carpets do some research online before you go or consult Pinterest first to see what styles you like- this will help you remember why and what you were attracted to in the beginning.
Kellims
There are two main types of carpets Kellims and Beni Quarain. Kellims have flat weaves and are (mostly) made by the Berber tribe- the most interesting come from the High or Middle Atlas mountains. Most carpets- those of higher quality will be in wool. How do you tell a synthetic carpet from one made from pure wool? Simple! Use a cigarette lighter. Just hold a flame under a small thread from the carpet, when it burns it will produce a particular smell and look which you will easily define as wool or synthetic.
Beni Ouarain
The Beni Ouarain is a deep pile carpet, is made of wool and is more expensive. The Berber tribe who create these use “live wool” – that is wool shorn from a sheep, rather than taken from a sheepskin after the sheep has been killed. The main characteristic of a Beni Ouarain carpet is the “shaggy” pile. This makes them very comfortable under foot and the colourway and decoration is usually a little simpler than Kellims.
Get ready to haggle– Once you have decided on your carpet, know your price in your head and get ready to haggle. Haggling can take a number of days from expressing interest to sitting down to mint tea with your seller. Guidebooks say a third of what the asking price is the correct price- more or less. This is still difficult to gauge and sellers will usually begin with an outrageous and often off-putting figure. Don’t let this deter you. Keep the conversation open and leave yourself some room to move up your negotiation- you can place and offer and come back the next day. Basic French will help with this negotiation but most Moroccans- particularly the souk sellers have excellent English. When negotiation develops you will usually be offered mint tea among the wares, this is a good sign, it means that they are prepared to strike a deal.
Time for mint tea- this a part of the purchase and sitting down to watch your seller prepare a mint tea is another wonderful cultural experience, it is a form of hospitality and refusal can often insult. However, the tea only comes into play when both parties are getting serious about numbers so it really can be an enjoyable experience as the seller is happy with the sale and you, hopefully will be very happy with the beautiful carpet you are about to buy.
Buying the carpet– the joy of finally selecting and striking a deal on a Moroccan carpet is wonderful. The seller will usually wrap this up in brown paper for you so it neatly fits in a suitcase to bring home. I bought the below red Kellim with intricate colours and patterns from the fellow above. I really fell for it and in the beginning he was asking a big price, however looking through the collections of many other carpet dealers with similar styles I soon realised that his were of a very high quality and he had some amazing designs. I kept returning and with my friends who were also purchasing and we finally struck a deal. He was a hard bargainer and insisted on the quality of the items he sold. In the end we all went higher than we had wanted but got some beautiful things. The souk seller as they say in Morocco “got a good price!”
Carpet interpretation- carpets don’t have to be just for floors, I spotted this fabulous chair in the cafe and restaurant Nomad also on Places des Epices (the spice market). It is upholstered in a beautifully coloured carpet, the possibilities for where and how you use your carpet are endless.
