Leather bookbindings, pigments for paints and majolica (white-glazed pottery) all came from the East, although the Venetians never succeeded in imitating the perfect ruby glaze of Iznik pottery.

ECONOMIST: Venice and the East

Best buys are babouches (traditional leather slippers), silver Berber jewellery, the famous blue-glazed Fassi ceramics, hand-sewn linen and cotton embroidery, Berber hendiras (traditional woven cloaks that make great wall hangings), argan oil (for cooking or in soap), saffron and other spices, brassware, and carpets of every type, style and quality.

BBC: Get lost in a Moroccan souq