Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1902-06-28
BAZARS OF DAMASCUS

most attractive place for ladies. be-
cause they find there the curios which
are so popular for decorative purposes
at home. and unless you have more
than the ordinary degree of moral
courage and unusual powers of resis-
lance you are certain to buy many
things that you do not want before you
leave the place. Here are all sorts of
oriental articles, most of them of Cau-
dy Colors and cheap materials and poor
workmanship. and seldom worth half
the price that is paid for them-wea-
pons, table covers. embroideries. car
pets. rugs. pipes, clothing. armor. to-
bacco pouches. silks and everything
you can think of. Coins and gems.
oriental coffee cups, pipe stems. made
of the wood of a cork tree, wound with
gold and silver thread. all kinds of an.
tiquities and fabrics o. oriental manu-
tacture are offered for about four times
their value to begin with, according to
the eastern custom, merely as a basis
for negotiation. The weapons are gen
orally modern. and most of them are
made in Germany; the oriental coffee
cups and tiles come from Austria: the
glittering jewelry which the shopkeep-
er will guarantee as the genuine pro-
duct of the Bedouins is made in Paris.
while the fezzes usually come from
Marseilles.
The second hand shops occupy a
section of the bazaar known as Suk
ei Kumelch, which literally means
'louse market" and if fleas are in
cluded in the designation it is very
properly applied. Brisk dealing is
the practice there. and the dealers
have a curious custom of running
from one shop to another with an ar
ticle asking for bids. One Spectator
will bid V piasters, while the auction
eer rushes on to the next until he has
encompassed the entire bazaar. In
the meantime he keeps the figures in
his mind, and after all the ~proprietors
of the slop shops have had an oppor-
tunity to examine the goods and make
an offer he delivers the prize to the
highest bidder.
At the Kahn As'ad Pasha, so called
because it was built by a governor
of Damascus of that name, is the horse
and saddle market. Twice a week
in an open court horses collected
from the desert in a semi-wild state
and with a shaggy and uncouth APP
p%earance. although they are represent
GU " bt IdllOuS labldu olttuS, dit
offered to the highest bidder. Some
times 800 or 400 animals will be sold
in a morning for nominal prices, the
business being conducted very much
as at the Tattersalls in London. Ad-
joining the horse market are the shops
for the sale of harnesses. saddlebags,
saddlery and other equestrian fittings.
and many of them are attractive be-
cause of their bright colors, gold en-
broidery. and silver and brass mount
ings. Turkish saddles are charac-
~teristic and unique, but are not so
handsome as those of Mexico.
The coppersmith's street is a noisy
place, where hundreds of skillful
artisans. including many children, are
working constantly upon those brass
and copper trays. bowls and dishes at
home. The Damascenes have always
been famous for fine brass work. and
brass dishes are generally used by
the natives throughout the country, in
place of porcelain. particularly by the
Bedouins and the p~easantry.