Page 339 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Morocco

SHOPPING IN MOROC C O  337

City Carpets
Woven in Rabat, Salé and Casablanca, city
carpets are perfectly symmetrical. They feature
floral and geometric motifs and are edged with
borders of differing widths.

A carpet seller in the Rue des Consuls in Rabat
Buying a Carpet
Colour and pattern are the primary considerations
when buying a carpet. Then come the material,
the carpet’s softness, the density of the weave
or knotting, and condition. A good-quality
carpet has clearly defined motifs and perfectly
straight edges. The value of a carpet is based
on the number of knots per row and the
density of the warp and weft. Some carpets
have up to 380,000 knots per square metre
(11 sq ft) and official price bands per square
metre apply. Carpets checked by the Ministry
of Crafts are hallmarked with the date that
they were checked, their provenance and
their quality. An orange label indicates extra-
superior quality; a blue label, superior quality;
a yellow label, medium quality, and a green
label, ordinary quality. Once the carpet has
been unrolled in front of you, you can start
to bargain (see p333).

Mediouna carpets, made in Casablanca, feature
shades of brick red or soft pink, and always have a Carpet shop in a crafts complex
lozenge-shaped or star-shaped central motif.

Haouz carpets, made in Middle Atlas carpets have Dyes are traditionally
Marrakech, are knotted. a woollen pile. The exact obtained from vegetable
They are characterized by a outlines of the pattern can extracts but are now very
background scattered with be seen only on their often supplemented by
naive motifs. smooth side. synthetic dyes.

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