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

~ @hAob wi III anu llt Ut
light of strangers. To American and
English tourists they are so attractive
that the guides leave them to be visit
ed last, because when a woman once
goes there she becomes so fascinated
thai she is eager to go again and can
not be tempted away to mosques. mu-
seums, cemeteries or other places of
interest. Nowhere in all the east are
oriental life and oriental customs dis
played so accurately and in such an
interesting manner, and the bazars
seem almost limitless in extent. They
are all situated in the same section Of
the city, n one is entered from an
other. In fact, they are practically
one and consist of several miles of
narrow streets, covered over with
arched. domelike roofing, the ancient
ones of masonry and the modern ones
of corrugated iron, lined on either side
By the little shops. ten or twelve feet
square, filled with assortments of mer-
chandise from all the ends of the
earth.
The merchants squat cross legged
on the floors of their booths, which
are raised a foot or eighteen inches
above the roadway, and you can dis.
tinguish between the races by their
demeanor. The Mohammedan mer-
chant never solicits trade. He pre-
serves a digniied re~ticence, and while
he is always courteous and willing to
show his goods, he does so with a
quiet indifference which is often tanta-
liZing and seems to be expressive of a
contempt for the infidels who intrude
with so much hustle and confusion up
on his composure. He strokes his
beard, reclines against a cushion and
plays with his beads or smokes his
nargileh while you examine his wares.
You will find him quite as sharp at a
bargain, but, strange to say, every
foreigner who lives in Damascus tes-
titles that he is more honorable in his
dealings and more accurate in mis-
statements h a eItLer the Jews or the
Christians, although his religion teach
es him that it is no sin to cheat an
unbeliever. The same seems to be
true everywhere throughout the Mo-
hammedan world. The testimony is
almost unanimous that the represen-
tations of a Mohammedan merchant
are usually to be relied upon, while
IhoIh OF the Christians and Hebrews
are not.
The Jews, Greeks, Armenians and
other merchants lush after c%ustorers
Will oil ( Nhul 1 . - III
ing. Americans are supposed to be
made of money and the occupants
OF the bazaars cannot be blamed if
they try to get as much of it as posi-
bic. Our people spend altogether
too freely, and pay eXhorbitant prices,
which the dealers would not think of
asking of Germans or Frenchmen, or
their own people. Hence their anxiety
TO get an American into their shops
and the enticements they offer are Of
ten amusing. Dealers in curios, en-
b~roideries, old silver and that sort of
thing, watch the railway stations and
the hotels and know when an Ameri-
can arrives in town. They call upon
him at the hotel, and stop him in the
street. offering their cards and solic-
iting his patronage. and en~deavoring
to induce him to make an appointment.
They will bring goods to the hotel
or will come with a carriage and con-
duct a stranger to their shops.
When a party of tourists enter the
bazaars they are besieged on all sides
by dealers clamoring for their atten-
ton and entreating them to visit the
places they recommend. Many of
the merchants can speak English.
The number is quite remarkable.
MANY nave llNeu III the OulJtu DUTIES
and are familiar enough with that
country to discuss different places
intelligently. If they ind out you are
from Chicago they will tell you they
used to live there, or New York, Phil
adelphia or Boston, as the case may
be. They invariably have lived at the
place you have come from. hoping in
that way to excite a benevolent inter-
est.
The bazaars are well classified.
Dealers in the same sort of goods &C.
cupy the same sections, so that trading
is more convenient than it would be
if they were scattered. The build
ings are generally owned by the gov
eminent of the municipality, and have
been erected from time to time to
meet the requirements of trade. Rents
are low, and the tenants are looked
after by stewards who have an organ
iZation that is complete n effective.
and subject more or less to the con-
troll of the guilds az we'll as the gov
eminent. The bazaars are thoroughly
cosmopolitan, however, and are crowd
ed with the representatives of every
race and nation from Nubia n Abys-
sinia to Bokhara and ~Afghanistan.
There is a perpetual banquet of color.
III NOoNhllto NdlN do HULL dS lLlC
faces. The artistic effect is some
what impaired at times by finding
chear Paris jewelry, Manchester
print. Waterbury clocks and German
merchandise Of every variety, ana
wise people will tell you that a large
part of the so called Oriental wares,
the embroideries, brass work, harness.
jewelry. old silver, scimeters and 9th
er arms, which are sold as souvenirs
of the country are imported from Eu-
rope.
In the goldsmith's bazaar. however.
there is no deception, and the jewel
ers sitting upon their little platform
will manufacture a bracelet or a pair
of earrings in gold fligree work, or
make any other article that you may
desire from any design while you wait.
If you will furnish the pattern or even
a rude sketch your order will be filled
yrifh marvellous raDi1ity altbnuuh the