When shopping in the souk, you’re expected to haggle. Not everyone likes doing it, but it isn’t so hard when you get used to it, and actually it’s kind of fun.

When haggling, the first thing you need is to know how much you want to pay, and what your maximum price is. If the shopkeeper will meet your price, you have a deal. If not, you don’t, and no harm is done. But never let a price pass your lips if you don’t want to pay it, and don’t be cajoled into raising your bid if you don’t want to. If you don’t reach agreement that’s fine – you can always come back.

When deciding what price you want to pay, you can go for what you think something is worth to you, regardless of the going rate, or you can check the going rate in advance in a place with fixed prices such as the Ensemble Artisanal (government crafts centre) or Entreprise Bouchaib Complexe d'Artisanat.

Some people imagine that you should pay a half or two thirds or whatever of the shopkeeper’s opening price, but that isn’t how it works: the shopkeeper will start off with whatever they think will get you bidding while still maintaining your interest. You may end up paying less than a quarter of that, or you may not be able to get the seller below 90% of it.