TEYA-TEYANENG , which means "place of shifting sands" after the way the nearby river changes its course from time to time, straggles out over a hill; it has a bustling, compact centre and suburbs that spread several kilometres north and east. T.Y. is the crafts capital of Lesotho, specializing in all manner of weavings, from luxurious jerseys to elaborately designed wall-hangings.

 

There are three weaving outlets in town. Setsotho Weaving (daily8am-5pm) lies opposite the Blue Mountain Inn off a signposted road west of the main road; here you can see tapestries being made, and various woven products are sold at reasonable prices in the fairly uninspiring adjacent shop. Just before you reach T.Y., on the left of the main road from Maseru, look out for signs to the small showroom of Hatooa Mose Moasali (daily 8am-5pm), which translates as "women must stand up and work hard". This women's collective sells particularly beautiful weaving, though they keep a fairly limited range in stock; their catalogue displays some very special wall-hangings, which you need to order as they take a week or two to make. A short distance further on, also signposted but this time to the right off the main road, the pleasant sandstone Anglican St Agnes Mission is home to Helang Basali Handicrafts (daily 8am-5pm). The showroom has an excellent selection of woven crafts, again including some very elaborate items, and in the workshop next door you can watch the craftswomen working on the wall-hangings at great looms stretching nearly to the ceiling.