One of Aleppo’s specialties is olive soap – they say all the great queens of the Middle East used it, Cleopatra, Nefertiti, Sheba, and Zenobia – so it makes for an exotic and luxuriant souvenir. In Aleppo, the traditional local recipe calls for 90% olives and 10% laurel, so it’s 100% natural; the benefits are that it locks in moisture making skin particularly smooth and supple. While you’ll see myriad stores stacked to the roof with rough-hewn blocks of the green stuff on Shariah al Maari and...

While our traditionalist friend Charles might find the old-fashioned folk art of ‘Filete Porteño’ charming, we had to buy modern gal Marie a more contemporary keepsake from Buenos Aires, so we tucked away a heavenly leather handbag from Humawaca which we picked up at their mandarin-fronted Palermo Soho store (pictured). These exquisitely crafted, fine leather bags come in a fabulous range of sizes and colours, and – amazingly enough – with myriad uses. Many are ingeniously multi-functional...

If you find the fabulous ‘Filete Porteño’ folk art decorating the darling old public buses and buildings in Abasto and San Telmo so endearing that you want to take some home, head to one of Buenos Aires many weekend neighbourhood markets. In the markets in San Telmo, Recoleta and La Boca, there are a number of stalls selling souvenirs decorated with the colourfully painted floral patterns. Avoid the tacky number plates and coffee mugs, and opt for a more traditional sign that your dad can put...

Papelera Palermo in Buenos Aires’ funky barrio, Palermo Viejo, is one of those fantastic stores where you can confidently enter knowing you’ll come out with fabulous gifts to take home to friends and family. Their specialty is recycled paper and handmade stationery and they do great greeting cards, wrapping paper and gift boxes. We particularly love their old school journals with stamps of Eva Peron on the cover. They also stock wonderful leather pencil cases, document cases, and soft...

There’s something so pleasurable about donning a poncho, especially in winter. Remember, it’s the chilly season down here in Buenos Aires. Slip into some black tights or skinny jeans and black leather, high-heeled, knee-high boots, or – if you dare – pink patent boots with this baby. Then slip your neck through a fabulous poncho, such as this vibrant number we picked up at La Feria de Mataderos (also read read our previous post). Pop on some big black Jackie O shades, grab an enormous leather...

The coolest of contemporary Argentine interior design, which you’ll see in restaurants, bars, and hotels around the Buenos Aires, combines sleek minimalist style with traditional South American touches – a colourful textile thrown casually over a black leather sofa, a rustic rug hung on a bare white wall, or – our favourite – a black and white cow hide on a polished concrete floor. If you want to create the same look back home, head to the gorgeous Tierra Adentro store in Recoleta for the...

Unless you’re a tango dancer, skip the tango shoes – are you really going to wear them when you get back home? – and take back one of these gorgeous antique green or blue seltzer bottles, also known as spritzer bottles, as a souvenir of Buenos Aires. Or better yet take home a dozen (DHL offer the best shipping from BA) and line them up in rows on your shelves. They look particularly lovely when the light streams through them. If you just settle for one, then make sure you give it prime position...

Everybody does it, right? If the hotel toiletries are attractive enough they’re not going to get used, you’re going to find some space in your luggage for them. Right? And they won’t get used at home either, but will reside in the bathroom toiletry cabinet where every morning as you clean your teeth they’ll remind you of that fab holiday you had and get you dreaming about the next. But these days we seem to come across products worth tucking away less and less frequently. Dubai's Bab Al Shams,...

Another great buy in Muscat’s old Muttrah souq are Aladdin-style slippers made in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. These sparkly slip-on numbers decorated in sequins and tiny beads come in myriad colours, from bright bold purples, oranges and pinks to more elegant black or white. The curly-toed shoes from Afghanistan are our favorite – in more traditional colours of red, chocolate and black, they’re decorated in fine gold or silver embroidery and all are surprisingly well made in natural...

If you’re after authentic traditional Omani handicrafts to take back home then skip the Muttrah souq and head to the wonderful Omani Heritage Gallery at the Jawaharat Al Shatti Shopping Centre next to Muscat’s Intercontinental Hotel. Aimed at supporting local artisans and craftspeople (most of whom are women) and preserving traditional techniques, this not-for-profit store sells high quality silver jewellery based on traditional Bedouin designs, Wahiba weavings, fine cotton textiles, colourful...