BAZAARS IN BAGDAD

Hokitika Guardian, 27 June 1929, Page 2

BAZAARS IN BAGDAD

A VISITOR’S IMRESSIONS. Every city and sizable town east of Bqez has. its bazaar. that n matiy cities ofthe East the old ones are ' gradually, superseded. Bagdad, however/; is’ different." Life in this city of a .quarter . of. .a million still centres round 1 the market place (writes G.A. :in dlje Christian Science Monitor); {.'On jfeW ■ street, the great aiid practically' only 'frfiffic! vein; you can book.'a' ieat'hi n ear to Teheran, Damascus, or ‘ Jerusaltn, buy passage ip an. aeroplane thgi will take you to Cairo or Moscopr, and reserve a berth on h' shi)j to' transport you from Basrah: to Bombay. ; : .. English signs.;.amortise the book shop tvhere, you ; can get tpe. latest translation of Keysering only 10 days .after its publication;in London/: stores are here, to,, yjrhich specialise in sporting outfits for tennis and polo. J You may have your hair cut in an establishment. jiaiped in • honour of n British High .Compiissioner, and yoy are .informed in English that' you may 'difie a la London in a hotel which hears >the naftie,! of a .late British general’whose name is also perpetuated in' thi great- Maude bridge acrosß .the Tigris.. ..... .... But*;all this is on the fringe bf Bagilad-r-nn the. street which leads io and fromthe bazaars. lt is a wide and straight street, with, room for spacious showrooms, to display the latest and. biggest models of Anterl- • .cag-'carir,' aiad' , doh : tra4t9 strongly, With the business premises in ,'the bazaars where a baby .carriage ' would force the proprietor on -to the pavement, . To Ifuow that, you are in, Bagdad you miist leafe this:! asphalted street for one of the fi?.h bazaar, districts. Vaulted roofs 4 which let in, seemingly, ,at one time, ajj'of Bagdad’s aij- . iniial rainfall ' bf sjx Inched—go rapidly, does the ; |llhy|pl soil of the iinpaved lanef - bf 1, cqmimeVrje turn jhtp .pools ’. of/ g)uf mud—-roV^, upqp; feW ffpjn; ip^f f* r cut .- business " j§; ebutitiubus overt flbW jntb the ptiildlb of the aljey. and yOlf woi}!d 's»&*•' Ihb ; storhkccpbr dit) nbt 'kho.ir .:'hrs ■ bwfi:.' fr6m Iris,/'height hqbr’s.' ‘.Mefehahtfi -'can Leaf' without ■ waiting lto‘ ’di'StbnVj tb- thbir' cbnipietifore clinching pr{failing to clinch; a wihgaip , i;wifjfe,-'» /custoiner who might An unwrifton law guarantee's against interference ifHhro'i' infr Mfeflesg i&j unavoidable'. ~ *'i./ VENDORS OF. ALL GOODS. { v ; / .Through the swarm, ankle deep in mild, a pqrter is heard appealing in the name bf Allah to pasSera-by for tr . the right ,of • way. “O friend of my Er uncle,” hi intones; v “.Watch your , head.” And well may you heed his appeal, for ho is crouching under a heavy burden, a case filled proibaSly with , piece .gobtif.. The rope holding the case in place is wound around his head and held between his teeth likp a bit. ' He cannot see in front of him, for -his- eyes are on. the ground, ! and he .is scarcely visible under his load. -;Y'\ V/; : \YV , : . ] .. Balancihg on Hjs head, it,. seems * precariously, a huge metal fray which c you discover is a portable restaurant, 1 4a, porter with Steaming dishes of i cooked Vegetables - tries to ' make his 1 Sray through a crowd. His progress * f arrested by a good-natured' throng owding around auctioneers mounted 1 on boxes planted in the middle of the lane. Everything, from cheese-cloth £ to astrakhan is offered to, the highest c

bidder by three auctioneers outshouting ope another. In danger of being trampled is a black-draped figure of a woman, holding in her lap the reserve stock of, old clothes which her man ,on .the box may call for.

-“Here is cashmere. How much for the cashmere cape? But you have no money for cashmere. Here, then, cotton! and how much ,my brothers, for the silk drees?” One of the auctioneers is dressed to illustrate the effect achieved when everything offered is bought because it is too reasonable to pass by. A „•, tiny skullcap of astrakhan on the ' ' back of the head, ho wears a woman’s maroon coat complete with fur collar. Out of one eye he regards the crowd as it ebbs and flows, a standing example of the well-dressed man. Apparently • the auction has been going on too long. Moreover, it is uuauthorised. Traffic has" become congested. A policeman braves the V? displeasure of the crowd and invites the auctioneers to' step down. The it auctioneers have brought the crowd CM to the desired mood. The crowd has been shown the purchasing power of the “ann.” They decide ii is best to shout their wares louder so that the voice of the law will not be heard. But if the truth be told, the officer 4 of the law is only human. He is »s interested as any of the crowd in the cashmere and the cotton and silk. Presently he begins' to handle these aricles, and you leave him there. TWO STAN OARDS. •L'- You leave the bazaars, sighing for 1!,: tbo magnificent Persian chests, ad-, miring the nigs, casting a long part, ing glance at tlio samovars—all the ' time reflecting, on the difference of standard between this bazaar and New street, the bazaar whom articles •P; are reckoned by the annan and New {</.■ street where the lowest denomination known seems to he the rupee. The two standards d° not meet. . Those who buy in rupees are not of 1

Irak. They have come to Bagdad to help the Irakis govern themselves, to drill and pipe the oil from Irak fields, to span the desert with cars and fill the languid air with the drone of aeroplanes. . But they live severely apart, dining in hotels which are “open to officers,” but not “other

ranks,” dancing twice a week to the latest jazz. They are the “sahibs,” and the 'lrakis their “bearers,” two concepts of master and servant introduced from India. The European hotels that cater for them pride themselves on .their ability to include sucking pig as part of the variegated menu. The merchants of Bagdad, five or six at a. time, nibble from little dishes containing.steamed vegetables when the portable restaurant descends from the porter’s head and comes to rest on the ground. ANTIQUITIES.

The guide book which tells you “Bagdad is an emporium for Arabic and Persian products, on the one side, and for European manufacture on the other,” informs you a little

further on that its bazaars “are no better-stocked than those of Aleppo.” To imagine what the city was like in remote antiquity, in the- day whon it was a Babylonian settlement, and before, one must visit the museum.

Beads of onyx, amethyist, cornelian, and agate unearthed in Ur show that at one time the bazaars of Bagdad, before Aleppo was known of, were stocked with beautifully-wrought things defying the craftsmanship of successive generations down to our day. The- cylinder seals of alabaster, lapis, shell, bone, ivory and rock crystal, disclose a delicacy of concep tion and workmanship which it rs hard to believe has been equalled anywhere. Coloured glass bottles which bavo come down frotn Nebuchadnezzar’s time, spindles of lapis on copper rods, spinning tops and dices, all point to the arts, the tastes, and the “vices” of the ancient Babylonians. The museum abounds in works of arc, such as the “goddess Beau,” a bubbed-hair image, and the perfect sculpture of the King of Logash,

which has come down from 200 b.c. Times and invasions have done their worst by this ancient land. Of the fine art no votaries are to be.found. Though Bagdad and its bazaars have a charm all their own, a visit to the museum makes one sigh less for the Persian rugs and chests, and wish more for a return of the Sumerians and their work.