| Subject | : | Hajj Market - the Syrian Version |
| Author | : | Stacy Cole mailto:%20jnscole@arab.net.sa |
| Date | : | 03-29-2001 on 01:47 p.m. |
| I saw the same "travelling show" while living in Damascus, Syria in
1999. The next year they must have gone through Iran-Iraq-Jordan, as they
never came through. There's a parking lot in downtown Damascus where they
set up shop year after year. The only way to find out they're in town is
by word of mouth or driving by every day to see. I was very disappointed
in the quality of the rugs for sale - for the most part very garish and
low quality. I'm told that in the first few days of the Hajjis' arrivals,
the Damascus rug dealers descend on the place like flies early in the
mornings and buy up all the good pieces, which they later re-sell at a
handsome mark-up. I was also told that if only I had been there a few
years earlier, the rugs were much better (and everyone was probably saying
then "if only you had been here a few years earlier..").
However, the scene was great. Wonderful craggy Daghestani faces and carpets spread as far as you could see. I bought an old kilim fragment for a few dollars and had two largish pillows made from it; I love looking at them. We also bought a large sumac kilim that our Damascus dealer friend described as "kartuny," meaning cardboard-like, but we like it and it's just for under the dining room table. (It was filthy and he cleaned it for free, so he can say whatever he wanted to about it!) I've now moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and was hoping to find the same market here before or after the Hajj, but no luck. Maybe next year... Stacy |
| Subject | : | Re:Hajj Market - the Syrian Version |
| Author | : | Filiberto Boncompagni mailto:%20filibert@go.com.jo |
| Date | : | 03-29-2001 on 02:00 p.m. |
| Dear Stacy, I’m quite surprised you didn’t saw them in Jeddah, unless the authorities there forbid the market. I heard they had some sort of problem. I’ll try to investigate in the next days, if I can find an interpreter. Thank you for your contribution. Regards, Filiberto |