Riyadh's old Bazaar

[S.Al-Anizi]

Originally Posted by jmings

Thank you for your pictures and comment.

Are you of the opinion that in the Arab world swordmaking is going the way of Toledo and Thailand where once wonderfull and fantastic weapons are being driven out of the marketplace by ill-ballanced, ugly objects unfit even for gardening?

You're welcome Jmings,

There never were any real bladesmithing tradition in arabia, except for mounting foreign blades with local hilts and scabbards, or so we may think right now. The area of arab arms and armour is probably the least explored in the field of arms and armour. If you would mean quality work, with old blades such as these, or the swords coming out of Ta'if, completely new, I would say yes, cheap Syrian junk is taking over the market. That is not to say that all newly made syrian stuff is bad, some are worthy being called swords. Its just that the bad stuff is driving quality out of the market.