Not known to many, SHOPPING in Africa is as good as a safari experience can get. One can get lost in the buzzing Cairo's bazaars looking for the perfect copper ware or exchanging a pair of branded shoes with a piece of authentic Zulu artwork in Cape Town's flea markets. Considering it is Africa, one would want to buy ivory, fur, tortoise shell, coral and indigenous wood, but for the sake of preserving the continent's natural resources, and as aware visitors, it is better to buy the fake/ look alike souvenirs. So, give a miss to that ivory chest or fur bag, to escape customs and the law, if not anything else.
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Not known to many, SHOPPING in Africa is as good as a safari experience can get. One can get lost in the buzzing Cairo's bazaars looking for the perfect copper ware or exchanging a pair of branded shoes with a piece of authentic Zulu artwork in Cape Town's flea markets. Considering it is Africa, one would want to buy ivory, fur, tortoise shell, coral and indigenous wood, but for the sake of preserving the continent's natural resources, and as aware visitors, it is better to buy the fake/ look alike souvenirs. So, give a miss to that ivory chest or fur bag, to escape customs and the law, if not anything else.
The Muslim countries of Africa have 'souqs' or open markets selling everything from cattle, to spices to perfumes to beautiful artwork and gold/silver/copper. A trip to these souqs is an experience in itself with all the sights, smells and sounds of life in all its chaos and glory. Egyptian cotton, musical instruments and belly dancing costumes are other things one can indulge in Khan-al-Khalili in Cairo, one of the world's oldest bazaars. Besides this, the souqs of Fez and Marrakech in Morocco, Kejetia Market in Kumasi in Ghana, Merkato in Adis Ababa in Ethiopia are some of the SHOPPING hubs in Africa.
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