What unique souvenirs to buy in Morocco (Casablanca, Fez and Marrakesh)?

So... what to buy in Morocco?

Okay. So i'm sick and tired of buying key chains (bookmarks, wallets, pens and etc...) as souvenir... so what is there to buy in Morocco that's unique? And where to buy?

For souvenirs, the best place to buy is in Marrakesh and well Fez too. Not really Casablanca since it's much like a city.. Instead of the Souks (the markets), you'll find malls in Casablanca and the markets are the best place to find unique goodies and a good bargain.

For most of my souvenirs, I bought them from Marrakesh. (and since I'm from Malaysia, I'll be quoting from our currency which is ringgit(RM) whereby 1USD is RM4.40 for your info) And I have to say that one thing I would DEFINITELY recommend to buy in Morocco! which is...

1. ...Argon Oil!!!! (MUST BUY)

If you didn't know, Morocco is the ONLY place in the world that produces Argon Oil. And I think most beauty enthusiast have heard of the benefits of Argon Oil. I've been hearing a lot about it lately on how it's good for your hair and skin before I even found out that its plant is only available in Morocco. So this was a complete steal for me! or for any girl you wanna buy for ;)

If you were to go to a proper store that makes the Argon Oil, it would cost about 200 Dirhams (RM100) for a 100ml or 150 Dirhams for a 50ml bottle of pure Argon Oil. If you go on the streets a small bottle of (I'm guessing around 50ml?) is 60 Dirhams. It's half the price. But!! It's most probably not pure Argon Oil. It's still Argon Oil though but not as concentrated as the expensive one you would buy at a proper drug store.

2. Tajin
A tajin is a traditional way of cooking in Morocco. You can find it in almost every Moroccan restaurant and which I think is this country's unique item. They say it helps to keep the heat and flavour in the dish and if your a food enthusiast or simply love cooking! This is something you can get.

If you're planning to cook with it, I would recommend going to a proper place where the actually make the Tajin and not on the streets. Quality is assured. But it will cost you about RM1,000 plus for one. We bought it straight from the factory place in Fez.

But if you're not willing to spend and just want to buy as a souvenier, then you'll find them anywhere at the souks/markets at a very cheap price like 5/10 Dirhams (that's RM2.50-5.00) for a small miniature one. I think you can still use the cheap one to cook but not advisable to put it in the oven.

3. Leather goods
You won't be able to find quality workmanship like leathers at Turkey or Korea but you'll definitely find pure quality leather items in Morocco. They sell from coats to Moroccan shoes etc. But what I would recommend to buy would be their leather bags.

Their fashion for coats and shoes... not mah style... the the stitching is... meh ok. but their bags are worth your money! Their bags have that classic leather bags looks that usually don't go out of style and made out of leather inside out! My mom was able to bargain for 300 Dirham (RM150) for 1 leather bag that would cost you a few hundred ringgits back home in KL! Total steal!

4. Ceramic painted plates
Morocco is famous for their beautifully blue painted painted ceramic items and well... there're pretty. So get them lol.

5. Mozaic decorated items

Definitely, if you went in any traditional style Moroccan house or historic sites, you will witness a lot of beautifully crafted mosaic designs decorating the walls. If I had the money (and the space! haha), I would have loved to buy a mozaic decorated table or fountain. Unfortunately, since I knew I couldn't buy one... I didn't ask how much was it... But there are places where you can custom make a design for you and ship it to your home. They'll also do replacements if your items where to break during the shipping.

Souvenirs I'm tired of seeing..
There's those souvenirs that you wish those merchants would stop pushing to buy.

1. Carpets
I see it in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt... and I'm sick of people trying to persuade my family to buy them. I know it takes a long time to make them but the thing is we don't need them and don't see the benefits of it in our home. So a thousand ringgit for a small carpet for us to step on??? Is just ridiculous for us...

2. Scarfs
Yes, another item I see everywhere and get anywhere in Malaysia for cheaps. I get that its a different material and design... But I have too much scarfs as souvenir that I ended up not using them cause I bought them thinking it was cheap... haha.

And a funny thing was that when they pestered us to buy one quoting 200-400 Dirhams (RM100-200) for a scarf, which my mom was able to bargain at 150 Dirham which by the way! he said he wasn't making any profit at 100 Dirham. We found the SAME EXACT scarf at a store in a mall on sale at 95 Dirhams!!! And we didn't even need to haggle with the lady... like what??

Clearly. In Morocco, HUGE tip! Bargain hard. No mercy!!!
(In their benefit of the doubt, maybe the store in the mall was trying to get rid of stock. But still bargain the lowest you can)