The Maasai Market, held daily in the area around the central bus station and clock tower, is Arusha's informal craft and souvenir hub. It is not a single organised market but a concentration of stalls and itinerant sellers, many of them Maasai from the surrounding countryside who make the journey to town to sell beadwork, jewellery, gourds, walking sticks, and cloth.
The prices are negotiable and the quality varies enormously. The best pieces — hand-sewn beadwork collars, cowhide sandals, heavy brass bangles — are genuinely good. The tourist-grade carvings stacked at the front of stalls are generally less interesting than the items sellers pull from their bags when they see you know what to look for. Take time, compare pieces, and don't rush. The market is liveliest in the mornings.