Haggling and Hammams
The Medina is a place where you can eat, shop, bathe, and pray. Nestled between the myriad of shopping stalls are well-hidden restaurants, hammams for public bathing and spa treatments, and of course mosques to accommodate those following the five-time daily prayer call. The narrow and winding alleyways are vibrating with willing shoppers, eager vendors, and buzzing with mopeds racing past patrons and the occasional donkey-led transport cart. All of this in a maze built solid with handmade, local and imported goods including clothing, spices, and even toilet paper.
Typical donkey with cart seen throughout the Medina, this one in a quiet alleyway
Negotiating prices, or haggling, has been a solid part of the fabric of the Medina dating back hundreds of years. For cultures where this is not standard practice, it can be a daunting and uncomfortable experience. If you visit Marrakech, and anywhere in Morocco for that matter, it’s essential to set aside any reluctance and join the game. The vendors expect to haggle, and frankly I found it to be a fun exercise and a pleasant way to interact with locals on their terms.
There are plenty of resources online that offer techniques for haggling, most containing a healthy amount of overlap. Based on my experience, I found the following key approaches helpful:
Look before buying: I was fortunate to have multiple days in Marrakech. I spent the first day browsing the stalls without intending to purchase. I found most items I wanted to buy were found in multiple locations. This would add to my leveraging power to negotiate a lower price.
Do some research: I found it helpful to do an online search in advance of shopping. This way I could get a sense of the expected prices for various items (rugs, spices, shoes, etc.). I also browsed fixed price stores in Marrakech for comparison where prices are already negotiated down.
Take it with a grain of salt: Vendors are there to sell and some will do whatever it takes. I encountered playful embellishments used to justify inflated prices, and some even designed to pull heartstrings (such as “made by women”). Doing research helped, but I also had to decide what I was willing to accept in terms of authenticity; would I believe the story and how much did it impact my decision to purchase the item.
Be aware of appearances: On one occasion, I made the mistake of wearing my sports watch when I went clothes shopping (I was warned). Although the watch was not that valuable, it was perceived as being valuable by the vendor. He quickly pointed out that it was, “a nice watch,” which made it hard for me to negotiate below a certain threshold. He even asked me to throw in the watch at one point. I bluffed and mentioned it was borrowed. He was kind and the engagement was friendly, but it did stunt my leverage.
Negotiate with confidence: I intentionally did not to show interest in what I was buying, and I started negotiating at an uncomfortably low price, knowing it would inevitably go up before the vendor and I came to an agreement. It’s not uncommon to start at 10-20% of the asking price, depending on the item in question.
An alternative to negotiating in Marrakech is to visit Ensemble Artisanal, located near Koutoubia Mosque and a short walk from the Medina. It’s a pleasant complex offering a smaller albeit broad selection of goods, similar to what is found in the Medina. There is also an outdoor cafe where shoppers can eat and drink. The prices are reduced to a fixed rate, making it economical and removing the exercise of having to haggle.
Side street with goods and a craft shop off a busy alleyway in the Medina, Marrakech
After an exhausting day of haggling, I decided to visit Hammam Mouassine, one of the oldest hammams in Marrakech, which dates back to 1562. This is a no-frills hammam, meaning no additional spa treatments aside from the traditional bathing ritual. It’s an ideal location for those who want an authentic bathing experience at an establishment frequented by locals.
Upon arrival, an older gentleman briskly led me down corridors that went from inside to outside the building. Once outside, I passed stacks of firewood where I overheard a conversation about how the water is heated by fire. Eventually ending up in another building in an alley, the host stopped at the door and shouted to the ladies inside to come fetch me (I presume). I was received by a lovely woman in a long, colorful dress and blue head scarf. After disrobing and hastily packing my things into an ornate wooden locker, I entered the dark, domed room where the sound of water splashing against flesh echoed among soft chatter. The room was warm and humid.
Hammam alleyway with stacks of wood for fire-heated water used in the bathing ritual
I was led to a mat where I would be greeted by my attendant whose job it was to bathe and scrub patrons. With care and intent, the attendant used black soap, or beldi, and lathered me from head to toe. Beldi is made from compressed olives and is said to nourish the skin with its high vitamin E content. After a healthy scrub to remove dead skin cells, a clay called rhassoul from the nearby Atlas Mountains was applied to my body, after which I was led to rest in a warm room so my skin could absorb the nutrients from the clay before receiving a final warm douse of water. The use of natural products to care for the body was both refreshing and invigorating.
Hammam hallway connecting entrance to bathing areas
For an immersive cultural experience in Marrakech, there are a number of accessible options to choose from. Strolling the Medina, I found that engaging in the art of negotiation was enjoyable and a good learning experience, not to mention a good confidence-builder in general. The traditional hammam was another pleasurable way to get a hands-on feel for daily Moroccan life.
Hammam link
Hammam Mouassine is an ideal location for a traditional hammam experience: https://hammammouassine.business.site/