Jibal Akakus Shopping

2 more images

... that's the nearest thing you'll find to a shop (photos 1 and 3) once you leave the towns and villages of the only road to the Akakus behind. In fact, we didn't find anyone selling anything once we left the road, and even in Al Aweinat we only saw one trader with a few items of jewellery for sale. I had bought a couple of things from the sellers who had set themselves up at the Ubari Lakes but thought I'd wait until later to get anything else .... mistake!!

We didn't get to Ghat, no doubt there are opportunities there in the souk to buy more, but if you're not heading as far west as that, and you see something you like along the way, my advice is to buy it when you see it.

What to buy: Tuareg "silver" (usually a silver/nickel alloy, with a pretty low silver content) jewellery and crosses (photo 2)on black glass bead strings and camels, gazelles and big-eared desert foxes; spoons and small utensils made of wood inlaid with "silver", tasselled and woven leather pouches of various sizes, calabash bowls , cloth and model palm frond huts made up the bulk of what we saw but as we only saw the one small group, I wouldn't like to say that's all there is. I would imagine the brightly decorated Tuareg mirrors and woven grass food covers seen elsewhere in Libya would be available somewhere.

What to pay: I bought a little fox and a graceful gazelle - total 25LYD. I had thought to buy some of the leatherwork later, but later didn't come for me.