Souks of Oman

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all~ I would like to present a running thread on Souks of Oman The aim of the thread is to show the scope of material being sold and the influence from other countries in all its forms. There are perhaps half a dozen souks to show and I shall try to add pictures as each gets a visit.
Here is the main Souk in Oman ... The famous Mutrah Souk right on the waterfront in downtown Muscat and a must for every tourist. Being the central collecting hub it is also a key area for serious collectors and some superb antiquities are also in there ... somewhere ! ... amongst the hundreds of shops.

Right now Yemeni work is flooding in. I noted a new store of Syrian provenance yesterday ~ Mutrah Souk can absorb it all ~ and is.

I intend this to be a work in progress so there will be a lot more to come. I just managed to get a few pictures as there were two or three cruise ships docked 500 yards away and between great swathes of tourists I managed to slide in with the camera.

On weapons I discovered amazing things ... and these may be viewed on the other involved thread on Kattara for comments ...

Mutrah Souk.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[colin henshaw]

Hi Ibrahiim

Interesting images. I used to work in Muscat in the early 1970s. No tourists in those days ! Visited the Mutrah souk several times - there were lots of old Omani antiques for sale, including weapons. I remember those old matchlocks and swords piled in heaps, many khanjars etc....

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by colin henshaw

Hi Ibrahiim

Interesting images. I used to work in Muscat in the early 1970s. No tourists in those days ! Visited the Mutrah souk several times - there were lots of old Omani antiques for sale, including weapons. I remember those old matchlocks and swords piled in heaps, many khanjars etc....

Salaams Colin~ I hope I can add some more as we roll forward... I have to try to focus more upon the ethnographics which will be fun.. I hope it will bring back some nice memories... meanwhile I will try to avoid being trampled by tourists... Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all~ Up the Buraimi Souk Today.

One store has Yemeni/Saudia links in the Buraimi Souk and occasionally one or two interesting daggers and swords pop up. Here are some daggers of the Saudia Habaabi region...(close to the Oman border)... said to be sized for teenagers...though that is only rumour quality info.

Anyway you can probably smell the herbs and fragrant incence in the first picture.. The final picture is a set of old scales the shop owner just will not part with... (My Dad.)

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Note; Each weapon carries the Saudia Stamp in the quadrangles of the scabbards (I wish all daggers carried a similar identifying mark ) As a matter of interest in Oman only occasionally are pieces of craftsmanship marked with a signature but that is about to change... From about now on (soon) all Omani made items will be stamped ! That would presumably include blades, swords, jewellery et al...

[DhaDha]

Great pics. Thanks.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by DhaDha

Great pics. Thanks.

Salaams DhaDha '' You aint seen nothin yet" !
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[scotchleaf]

I appreciate your hard work on this thread. One possible improvement, from the perspective of educating the reader, would be to label the photos to explain which show authentic items. For example, are the daggers in this shot recently made and "antiqued?"

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by scotchleaf

I appreciate your hard work on this thread. One possible improvement, from the perspective of educating the reader, would be to label the photos to explain which show authentic items. For example, are the daggers in this shot recently made and "antiqued?"

Good question which I think masks another...How to tell a real Khanjar / Jambia from a tourist item?..no? Firstly these daggers are in an Omani Souk but they are all Jambias from Sanaa in Yemen ...probably via Salalah... I doubt if they are expensive and I imagine they are somewhat tourist aimed..Muttrah Souk gets thousands of tourists so someone is sure to take one... Thats how souks work...look more closely and find where the real stuff is sitting... often behind the counter of the owner... thats where to strike a decent purchase...I mean you have to be aware all the time in souks... In arabia generally they will tell you what you want to hear... Is this old door very old... Yes 3 thousand years it belonged to my Uncle!! etc etc You have to know your stuff.

Its great fun though !!!

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[scotchleaf]

Will future tourists from abroad visit the (former?) USA (where I live), and scour the flea markets of LA and New York for "authentic" 20th century blades? Will workshops churn out fake Busses and Ka-bars?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by scotchleaf

Will future tourists from abroad visit the (former?) USA (where I live), and scour the flea markets of LA and New York for "authentic" 20th century blades? Will workshops churn out fake Busses and Ka-bars?

Salaams scotchleaf ~ When I was in New York I spent hours in the flea markets and I noticed there was authentic and recently made stuff sitting side by side...Cleverly mixed. You have to know your antiques...but anyway it was great fun ....Its the same here...Theres nothing a good antiques copying workshop cant copy...but knocking out good copies is expensive ... so an eye on the price balanced with a good idea in the chosen field...and an eye on the actual item will often set the bells ringing. What I find amazing is that people cannot bargain..I always bash the price and will walk away rather than pay some daft sum...Right now in the off season is the time to buy here...When the weather cools down out come the tourists and up goes the price !!

Thanks for the posts...

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.