Riyadh's old Bazaar

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 02:02 PM

This is the second shop I went to. It had lots of very old hadhrami saifs, and very old karabellas, as well as French chaterllaut blades.

A bunch of swords, you can spot a couple of mutated kaskara's, which had their hilts replaced with brass saif hilts (syrian made), welded in.

A lot of martini henry's

A bunch of flintlocks

Newly made saifs, made in Ta'if

Lots of khanjars

Three very old karabellas, and one very old kattara, of a hilt design Ive never seen or heard of before.

A french chaterlaut sabre, which had its guard cut off, and made into a ghaddara

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 02:32 PM

A very old blade, that looks very much like a Clauberg, except it had no signature, nor a knight on the forte. I guess it must be an old replica. It is so old, that its hilt has weathered off.

A newly made sword, which I found in the souk, one of the best. The all the fittings are silver, gold washed, with bone hilt slabs. Im not sure if the blade is old or not, it has some english digits engraved towards the forte, which could signify a european blade, however, it is too tip heavy to be a functional sword.

the hilt

the spine

Rick · 20th January 2007, 03:50 PM

I nominate this and the 'Museum' thread as photo posts of the year.

Great work my friend !
One man and a camera can make all the difference !

Thanks from all here for taking us along on your travels.

fernando · 20th January 2007, 07:21 PM

Hi S.Al-Anizi
I envy your trip, and those beautyfull pictures taken at such marvellous places. Thanks a lot for showing.
I have read you kind offer in the other ( Riyadh Museum ) thread, and ask you to mail me a full size picture taken at the old Bazaar, the one under the title "A bunch of Jambiyas. Good news, none of these were stripped of their original, forged blades, as with ones coming out of Oman."
Would that be possible ?
Thanks a lot - Shukran gazilan
fernando
fernandoviana@netcabo.pt

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

Hi S.Al-Anizi
I envy your trip, and those beautyfull pictures taken at such marvellous places. Thanks a lot for showing.
I have read you kind offer in the other ( Riyadh Museum ) thread, and ask you to mail me a full size picture taken at the old Bazaar, the one under the title "A bunch of Jambiyas. Good news, none of these were stripped of their original, forged blades, as with ones coming out of Oman."
Would that be possible ?
Thanks a lot - Shukran gazilan
fernando
fernandoviana@netcabo.pt

Right away

fernando · 20th January 2007, 10:49 PM

Picture received
Thank you ever so much, Sager.
fernando

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 11:03 PM

Sheikh Nasir Al-Sufayyan, Abu Bandar, an old man with 50 years of expertise at hand, in the field of swords, jambiyas, and spears, and in general, anything traditional. He is a very old man, a person who knows how things were done, and the names of things 'back then', a true historian and knowledgebase, in the field of arab history and culture. He works in silver, gold, welding, and everything related in the job of swordsmithing, except making the blade itself. His reason for that, is that it isnt worth the effort, costs, and time making a blade, when the market for newly made blades is low, and most people keep swords passed down from generations, and maintain them from time to time. When I first went into his workshop, there was this african chap, who came to collect two Ethiopian military sabers which Nasir himself had repeened, and re-installed the leather covering the wooden hilt. Even the repeen job was traditional, he had ground down the brass hilt, heated the tang, and pounded it hard to secure the hilt, which was loose to start with. Another man showed him an omani jambiya, with beautiful silver nails hammered into the hilt, he complimented on the silverwork, when the man told him that this was his work himself, that he did some years ago. I tell you, this man can do anything. He told me that he had started learning this trade when he was 8, he used to live next to a swordsmith, and would go down to meet him daily, and help him in his work, until he became one, at a time when there were 9 swordsmiths in Riyadh, now, he's the only one left, and he hasnt prepared his heir

. He refused to start any conversation with him, before sitting down and having a cup of coffee, and before I left, I had to have dinner with him at his house as an obligation, when he had learnt that I had come to him from an other country.

His magnifying glass, with which he identifies giraffe, from rhino, from cattle horn, and between ivory and bone

A huge omani jambiya, for display only

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 11:13 PM

Ghaddaras in the corner. The tulwar you see has the resharpened and fatigued blade, yet it is still, more expensive than most of the swords in the shop.

Spare hilts, of many types

The tulwar with the red velvet scabbard you see, is the most expensive sword in the shop, at $12000.

Newly made persian tridents, complete, with the cartouche too!

The four swords on the top all have persian wootz blades, with Syrian or Nejdi mounts, the fourh and bottom one has newly made syrian fittings. They all have persian wootz blades, and all run for $1800-$1200. Abu Bandar generally considers persian wootz to be inferior to Indian wootz, which he highly praises, even if the blade has been resharpened alot and fatigued. He also places Clauberg blades on top of Persian wootz in quality!!! Please ignore the gigantic swords that appear in the pic, they're nothing but a bunch of newly made syrian wallhangers.

S.Al-Anizi · 20th January 2007, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick

I nominate this and the 'Museum' thread as photo posts of the year.

Great work my friend !
One man and a camera can make all the difference !

Thanks from all here for taking us along on your travels.

Thanks alot my friend. You hang on there, the best has yet to come!

20th January 2007, 03:50 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Photo Posts of the Year I nominate this and the 'Museum' thread as photo posts of the year. Great work my friend ! One man and a camera can make all the difference ! Thanks from all here for taking us along on your travels.

20th January 2007, 07:21 PM	#4
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Great trip Hi S.Al-Anizi I envy your trip, and those beautyfull pictures taken at such marvellous places. Thanks a lot for showing. I have read you kind offer in the other ( Riyadh Museum ) thread, and ask you to mail me a full size picture taken at the old Bazaar, the one under the title "A bunch of Jambiyas. Good news, none of these were stripped of their original, forged blades, as with ones coming out of Oman." Would that be possible ? Thanks a lot - Shukran gazilan fernando fernandoviana@netcabo.pt Last edited by fernando; 20th January 2007 at 07:53 PM.

20th January 2007, 11:03 PM	#7
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	Nasir Al-Sufayyan Sheikh Nasir Al-Sufayyan, Abu Bandar, an old man with 50 years of expertise at hand, in the field of swords, jambiyas, and spears, and in general, anything traditional. He is a very old man, a person who knows how things were done, and the names of things 'back then', a true historian and knowledgebase, in the field of arab history and culture. He works in silver, gold, welding, and everything related in the job of swordsmithing, except making the blade itself. His reason for that, is that it isnt worth the effort, costs, and time making a blade, when the market for newly made blades is low, and most people keep swords passed down from generations, and maintain them from time to time. When I first went into his workshop, there was this african chap, who came to collect two Ethiopian military sabers which Nasir himself had repeened, and re-installed the leather covering the wooden hilt. Even the repeen job was traditional, he had ground down the brass hilt, heated the tang, and pounded it hard to secure the hilt, which was loose to start with. Another man showed him an omani jambiya, with beautiful silver nails hammered into the hilt, he complimented on the silverwork, when the man told him that this was his work himself, that he did some years ago. I tell you, this man can do anything. He told me that he had started learning this trade when he was 8, he used to live next to a swordsmith, and would go down to meet him daily, and help him in his work, until he became one, at a time when there were 9 swordsmiths in Riyadh, now, he's the only one left, and he hasnt prepared his heir . He refused to start any conversation with him, before sitting down and having a cup of coffee, and before I left, I had to have dinner with him at his house as an obligation, when he had learnt that I had come to him from an other country. His magnifying glass, with which he identifies giraffe, from rhino, from cattle horn, and between ivory and bone A huge omani jambiya, for display only

20th January 2007, 11:13 PM	#8
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	Ghaddaras in the corner. The tulwar you see has the resharpened and fatigued blade, yet it is still, more expensive than most of the swords in the shop. Spare hilts, of many types The tulwar with the red velvet scabbard you see, is the most expensive sword in the shop, at $12000. Newly made persian tridents, complete, with the cartouche too! The four swords on the top all have persian wootz blades, with Syrian or Nejdi mounts, the fourh and bottom one has newly made syrian fittings. They all have persian wootz blades, and all run for $1800-$1200. Abu Bandar generally considers persian wootz to be inferior to Indian wootz, which he highly praises, even if the blade has been resharpened alot and fatigued. He also places Clauberg blades on top of Persian wootz in quality!!! Please ignore the gigantic swords that appear in the pic, they're nothing but a bunch of newly made syrian wallhangers. Last edited by S.Al-Anizi; 20th January 2007 at 11:47 PM.

20th January 2007, 02:02 PM	#1
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	This is the second shop I went to. It had lots of very old hadhrami saifs, and very old karabellas, as well as French chaterllaut blades. A bunch of swords, you can spot a couple of mutated kaskara's, which had their hilts replaced with brass saif hilts (syrian made), welded in. A lot of martini henry's A bunch of flintlocks Newly made saifs, made in Ta'if Lots of khanjars Three very old karabellas, and one very old kattara, of a hilt design Ive never seen or heard of before. A french chaterlaut sabre, which had its guard cut off, and made into a ghaddara

20th January 2007, 02:32 PM	#2
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	A very old blade, that looks very much like a Clauberg, except it had no signature, nor a knight on the forte. I guess it must be an old replica. It is so old, that its hilt has weathered off. A newly made sword, which I found in the souk, one of the best. The all the fittings are silver, gold washed, with bone hilt slabs. Im not sure if the blade is old or not, it has some english digits engraved towards the forte, which could signify a european blade, however, it is too tip heavy to be a functional sword. the hilt the spine

20th January 2007, 10:49 PM	#6
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Picture received Thank you ever so much, Sager. fernando