Culture Shocks: Haggling in Marrakesh

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]educing an elderly Moroccan man to tears is not typically considered an entertaining holiday experience, but this was an essential step in fulfilling my holiday targets. Well, not the blubbering shop owner, but the cheap Djellaba he was selling, a garment with a pointed hood.

It is worn by most Moroccan men and acquiring one had been an aim ever since I stumbled into Marrakesh’s old city, confronted by baying donkeys and the rich scent of leather.

Upon marching into the markets and discovering an aged shop-owner who claimed to specialise in traditional clothing, I was greeted by a feast of coloured Djellabas. Yet, when we offered 900 dirham (the equivalent of £60), he scoffed and shooed us away, shouting instead of far greater prices.

However, this was only the first stage of a desperate struggle, a calculated game of catand-mouse that is the art of the haggle. This became apparent when, as I despondently turned to leave the shop, a shrill cry implored me to stay. With a sickly smile, the owner apologised and lowered his original ludicrously expensive demand by several hundred dirham, but this was still unacceptable. This led to hours of dripping sweat, cursing, insulting mothers and pleas to think of the merchant’s family. Once the Djellaba salesman had become a teary mess, muttering empty threats about what would await me if I returned to Morocco, I had lowered the price to the equivalent of £15.

When you go to the markets, or souks as they are locally known, you should be armed with the knowledge that nothing, from spices to radios, has a fixed price. When merchants spot you with your Ray-Bans, cargo shorts and upturned map entwined between your hands, they often, understandably, exaggerate their prices in order to gain as much money as possible from the wealthy tourist. What they don’t expect is a firm resolve and an unwillingness to be duped.

However, it is crucial to remember that this isn’t a shouting match and the seller still has the ability to refuse you their item. Instead, haggling is a subtle battle of wits that requires a huge amount of patience.