CAVA (CRAFT CENTER OF THE CITY OF ABIDJAN)
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Pretty craft center with myriad batiks, Korhogo cloth, loincloths, bronzes, jewelry and paintings
Don't forget to take an afternoon to stroll in the shady alleys of this pretty craft center arranged in a small village of red brick huts. Myriads of batiks, Korhogo canvases, loincloths, bronzes, jewellery and naive paintings enhance the darkness of the small shops with their shimmering brilliance. Provided you have some knowledge of African art and the desire to go hunting, some shops will appear to you as real caves of Ali Baba. Indeed, if the CAVA offers a wide choice of Ivorian and African handicrafts usual, decorative and clothing, you will also find some superb pieces from Ghana, Mali or Nigeria. Each vendor has his specialty and you can even observe some artisans at work. Among the unmistakable items of this craft market, the naive Dominic with his "Botérian" muse Abiba, the opulent healer; the small settlers and bronze on glass; the door stoppers, figurative statuettes and shimmering birds beautifully painted at the Autolac by old Leon (right entrance); the superb paintings under glass by Barakkart and Karim; the necklaces and other costume jewellery from the exuberant and colourful imagination of Mimi; the Attic of African Pearls; the amazing recycled creations of Nicolas, or the natural cosmetics based on shea butter from Ikakene in Africa, presented in pretty gourds and small terracotta containers. The maquis located in the centre of the market offers breakfasts and you can also have lunch there for a derisory price. Lying there for a few moments in the late afternoon is a very pleasant way to end the day and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere of the evening while all around, the merchants start to pack up shop. Well, there is one small reservation to be made in spite of everything: namely that the small size of the place and its clearly touristic vocation make your status as a walking toubabou-portfolio even more obvious, which will make you be questioned about every fifty centimetres by salesmen offering you "just to look". So the place is certainly very pleasant, but to take advantage of it, it's better to go there warned and armed with time and patience, because you'll be constantly solicited and, if you're tempted to buy, the haggling may drag on and on.
A good just lighting of what was said by the sly little minx; they they know little about Senegalese. God knows that they generous, are open everywhere or they spend a appreciate them. What the others do not understand it is crafts attract the clientele and it is normal for a merchant. what this type there wrote on these Senegalese it is not right and they are only lies. And what hurts is that people who say that is not Ivoiriens.Tout what you can say that they are jealous. Thank you for your understanding.