Babouches

Moha's neighbour in the Souk is away visiting relatives so Moha is looking after his shop too and selling babouches. These are the traditional footwear of morocco slip-ons with turned down heels worn like mules. Traditionally men wear round toed shoes and women pointed. Men wear yellow and women red. But you can get round toed shoes for women too and Beloved has a pair of pointed red babouches he wears as slippers; as he is a size 10 these were hardly made with women in mind.
The quality of the babouches varies depending on whether only the top is leather and the lining and/or sole synthetic or whether all parts are leather and on the quality of the leather. The everyday babouche has rubber soles like the old-fashioned "Birthday" sandals I wore as a child. The most expensive ones at the rear of the shop all have pointy toes and the leather mimics dyed alligator or snakeskin.
There are special babouches local to the Souss area. These have soles made of recycled tyres. This is because Argan trees have very sharp spiky leaves or needles. They can penetrate even leather soles but not the tyres so they are used by people walking in Argan areas. I can't walk in babouches or mules; I need a heel strap. I once tried some for a couple of days but nearly killed myself on the stairs so I think I'll stick with my Docs which certainly have Argan-proof soles.
Babouche are another very portable purchase. £10 should get you a pair of the finest quality, lesser quality will cost less.



Every day composite sole babouches




Women's open work babouches




The best quality leather babouches




Special babouche with tyre soles for walking over Argan

Five years ago in Marrakech Beloved bought some lesser quality babouches in the Souk, black ones. He wore them at the swimming pool that afternoon and the lack of quality showed in that the dye came off immediately. We took them back the next day and the young men were earnestly explaining why we could not have our money back as their father was not there. I had a broken arm at the time and could not do much so I sat on their stool at the front of the shop and when ever any potential tourists came into view waved the shoes and shouted "bad shoes , bad shoes, don't buy, bad shoes". Needless to say it did not take that long for us to  get our money back and the whole performance was watched with great amusement by the neighbouring stall holders. Just a cautionary tale not to think getting the cheapest quality is a bargain (unless it is the everyday babouche worn by everyone). Beloved bought his red babouche from Moha's neighbour 2 years ago and has worn them daily when we are here, in the bathroom and to hotel pools and has had no problems with the dye so it is not a universal failing.