Original Story Published by: Michelle Anne P. Soliman for BusinessWorld
A KAFTAN to add color to your wardrobe; a copy of your best friend’s name written out in Arabic calligraphy; ingredients such as cinnamon powder, figs, and couscous for adventurous meal preparations; and a collection of multicolored plates for use as decorations for the living room wall — for an entire month, taking home or sharing a piece of the Kingdom of the West requires no air fare.
Luxury retailer Rustan’s showcases the culture and handicrafts of Morocco at the special Le Coeur du Moroc (Heart of Morocco) section at the fifth floor of Rustan’s Makati for the entire August.
“The Embassy of Morocco opened here (this year), and we have close ties with Morocco, so, we decided to do this festival since we do festivals ever so often. The last Moroccan [festival] we did was 20 years ago,” Marilen Tantoco, Rustan’s Vice-President for home merchandising and Philippine honorary consul general to Morocco told BusinessWorld at the festival’s launch on July 31.
The festival — done in partnership with the Embassy of Morocco, the Moroccan National Tourism Office in China, HSBC, and Fairmont Makati — features a wide range of authentic Moroccan items including women’s djellaba (a traditionally long, hooded, baggy robe with sleeves), baboucheslippers, Moorish-inspired hanging lamps and lanterns, multicolored plates, mirrors made of hand-carved natural bone and hand-embossed metal, tagine (clay cooking pots), and pure Argan oil (often called “liquid gold” in Morocco).
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