I spent a good amount of time here. But still nothing caught my eye. I thought some designs were cool but nothing that tugged on my heart strings. Delirium started to kick in. Tired, stressed, hungry, I took a break and grabbed a bite at a nearby non-tourist spot. I say non-tourist because it was tucked away behind the shops with prices cut by more than half. I scarfed down a sandwich and vegetable platter then hooked up to wifi. I messaged my “Spain Mom” (My old host family from Segovia, Spain). She’s a pro in negotiating here. She says, “Set your price, and if he doesn’t like it then walk out.” It sounds a lot easier than it is. I went back to Lahandira and checked out more rugs. I was looking for a family of runners, “cousins”, I said. We found three. These were each unique and authentic from the Berber mountains. But still, these rugs didn’t do it for me, I was neither excited or disappointed, just meh.

Abdel Fattah showed me more rugs. No, nah, no, no, nope. It was clear I wouldn’t find another rug to match this majestic piece. Abdel suggested I go with just one, “buy one, buy well.”

It’s funny, when the negotiating begins its like, alright lets duke this out, both contenders put on their game face. He started high, I said 1/3^rd of his initial price. I felt bad, it felt like I was shaming his culture to barter so low. BUT from insistent, Spain Mom and many read articles, this is how the game works here.

Be fearless and cut low, they do this day in day out. After back and forth we met in the middle and I was super happy with the final price and of course the rug I sought after! We gathered round, took pictures, video, then recouped back at his shop where we sat down and discussed the origins of the rug, how the berber woman devote their lives to this art, and life in the Medina. You can see the whole experience in the video link below.