If you enjoy a hard-fought but rewarding bargaining session, visiting a souk is one of the many activities you simply cannot miss when visiting Casablanca. Are you ready to face the best bargainers on the planet? Sharpen your skills as an expert buyer, learn to use silence to your advantage and launch your best offer to get the lowest price possible; yes, the bargain to remember and brag about for years to come (even if you never use your priced purchase, let’s face it).
To the south of the city of Casablanca is the famous New Medina (in the Habous Quarter). This picturesque area, which was spearheaded by French architects during a boom experienced in the city back in the twenties, is a charming blend of traditional and modern architecture. Currently, the New Medina is full of stores and workshops where you can empty your wallet and fill your suitcase with souvenirs.
The Habous Quarter is made up of an endless number of streets dotted with colorful shops that neatly display their handmade products before your eyes. If you decide to take it slowly, you can easily spend up to three or four hours browsing among carpets, paintings and handicrafts of all types and conditions. If the starting prices are too expensive for you, don’t hesitate to try to get them lower, since bargaining is not considered an offense.
Something to look out for as your walk through Habous is the souk of olives, a paradise for lovers of the aperitif par excellence in the Mediterranean. This small but cozy souk is located in a small patio and has about ten stores which specialize in different types of olives. Of course, you can sample them until you decide which ones to buy.
Whether it is olives, carpets or any other item that you have in mind when you visit Casablanca, remember to refine your “commercial instincts” to get the best possible bargains.
Photo | The Ujala
