What's a good shopping and craft-buying itinerary for Morocco?

Morocco is one of the great shopping countries on earth, but the trick is geography: each city is the master of a different craft, so a buying trip should follow the makers. I'd give it eight to ten days and start in Marrakech, the densest souk in the country. This is the place for hand-knotted rugs, pierced-metal lanterns, babouche slippers, leather poufs and spices. I always send buyers in with a guide for the first foray — not to be sold to, but to be shown which alleys hold the genuine workshops behind the tourist stalls, and to learn what good quality actually looks and feels like before they spend.

From Marrakech I'd route you to Fes, the artisanal heart of the country, for the things it does better than anywhere: leather (this is where the famous tanneries dye the hides for jackets, bags and poufs), blue-and-white Fassi pottery and zellij mosaic work, brassware and brocade. Spend a day in the medina's craft quarters watching pieces being made, which both sharpens your eye and makes the eventual purchase mean something. Then on to Essaouira on the coast for its own specialities — fragrant thuya-wood boxes and bowls turned by the port, raffia work, and the best argan oil and amlou, bought from a women's cooperative where you can watch it pressed.

If you have the days, the real treasures are rural. I'd build in the Middle and High Atlas and a weekly souk town — the Tuesday souk at a place like Tnine Ourika, or the markets around the Ourika and Ounila valleys — for genuine Berber carpets bought from the weavers, chunky old silver jewellery and amber, woven baskets and hand-thrown tagine pots, all at a fraction of medina prices and with the stories attached. A cooperative visit is the antidote to the hard sell: fixed-ish prices, fair pay to the makers, and the chance to understand the symbolism woven into a rug before you commit.

Now the honest mechanics, because a buying trip lives or dies on these. Bargaining is expected almost everywhere except cooperatives and fixed-price shops — start well below the asking price, stay warm and smiling, be ready to walk (the best discounts come as you leave), and never start haggling for something you don't actually intend to buy. Carry cash in dirhams for leverage; many shops take cards but you'll pay for it. For rugs, lanterns and ceramics, reputable shops arrange reliable international shipping and handle the paperwork — get it in writing, photograph your piece, and keep the receipt. Pack a soft empty duffel inside your case for the smaller hauls, and tell us your wishlist so we can point you to the right makers rather than the right tourist traps.