Tamanrasset Craft Markets

Tamanrasset is the main town of the Hoggar and the place where Tuareg craft is sold: silver worked into pendants and crosses of the kind associated with different southern towns, tinaghin and rings, leather bags and cushions worked with dyed strips and fine stitching, wooden bowls and spoons, camel-hide goods, and takouba sword scabbards. Some is made in the town and some brought up from further south. An artisan centre gathers workshops in one place and the market stalls run alongside. The town is also the base for travel into the Atakor and to Assekrem, and the crafts are bound up with that traffic, so quality and price both vary widely.

What to look for

• Tuareg silverwork - pendants, crosses and rings in the southern styles.
• Worked leather - bags and cushions in dyed and stitched hide.
• The artisan centre - workshops gathered under one roof.
• Craft made and craft imported - the mix in the market stalls.

When to go

November to March; summer heat is severe. Half a day. Bargaining is normal. Ask what is made locally, since a good deal of stock comes from further south.

What to expect

A lot of what is sold is imported and not Tuareg made. Silver purity is variable and rarely hallmarked. Travel to and around the far south requires authorisations and licensed guides. Flights are the only practical access and are irregular.

Nearby

Assekrem is north-east in the Hoggar; Mount Tahat rises nearby.