Kariakoo

I finally got round to going to Kariakoo to check out the market there, it's enormous, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer size of it. Kariakoo is an extension of the town centre of Dar and possibly the market/shopping capital of the city. I used to go into the big covered food markets in Mexico and treat myself to a freshly squeezed juice or agua de horchata. The markets there were refreshingly large and well used spaces. Kariakoo was dizzyingly busy and far more crowded than I expected. I thought I'd be able to manage going alone but I would have got myself lost and possibly lost my phone and wallet too. I walked around with the bajaj driver who took me there. He seemed happy to show me around and I was thankful to be with someone who had their wits about them. It has to be the kind of place where people lose phones and wallets to pick-pockets all the time. I thought I wanted to buy some fabric to take to a tailor but I was so overwhelmed by the amount of stuff on offer that I failed to make any purchases although I was tempted to buy some cheap long skirts and maxi dresses. It can be quite stressful to stop and look at things because you get a lot of hassle to buy when all you're doing is looking. People push a lot and are pushy with sales, I felt a bit like I was being dragged along in a current walking around those streets and in around the jam-pack stalls. Markets are dying out back home so its very interesting to be in the thick of one that's still so alive.


Although I failed to find any fabric to take to make into a nice new pencil skirt, I was amazed by the covered market indoors where there were huge sacks of dried pulses and spices for sale. Dried fish, dried grasshoppers and as we ambled the narrow sections of the dark and dingy market, I saw people making tiny clear plastic bags by sectioning and pressing endless rolls of clear looking ribbon with a strange machine. I was not expecting to see that right next to spice sacks and tomatoes, it was a real surprise.


A second covered space housed bikes, old sewing machines, household items like brooms and buckets, garden fertiliser, anything, everything. Sewing machines are popular here, people use tailors to get clothes made and repaired. I regularly see people sewing with old singer machines, probably because the pedal power means that they can work out on the street if they want and they can continue through power cuts saving themselves the electricity bill and money spent on fuel to feed the generator. I'm annoyed I still haven't got round to taking some fabric to a tailor to get something made, it's supposed to be very cheap and it's all the excitement of coming up with a cool idea for a skirt or a dress (or just seeing one in a magazine and wanting to copy) without the annoying hassle and frustration of trying to make it yourself - my attempts at using my mum's sewing machine in the past have been a waste of time. They've never even come close to the images in my mind, the quality of my stitching, accuracy and patience have always led to rather disappointing results.


I left Kariakoo feeling relieved to have got away. Not exactly a relaxing shopping experience but an eye-opening one.