Medhat Pasha Market… the fragrance of history and the host of oriental handicrafts

Medhat Pasha Market is located in the heart of Old Damascus. It is parallel to the famous Hamidiyeh Market and almost competes with it in its fame. It has historical and religious importance as it includes a number of religious sites, the most important of which is the Church of Paul the Prophet.

Medhat Pasha Market embraces a group of the oldest and most ancient shops in Damascus, where clothing, fabrics and curtains stores are lined up on both sides. Other markets such as the silk market, Al-bzouriyya, tailors market , and wool market  branch out from its alleys.

It is overcrowded, as it provides, with the other surrounding markets, all the supplies that a  visitor might need.

Abu Saleh said that market’s commodities include distinctive textile products, such as silk fabrics, men’s gowns, kufiyahs, bed sheets, brocade, towels, and curtains, in addition to coffee shops, nuts, grains, Arab ghee, oils, spices and herb shops, as well as shops for making and selling copper and mosaic handcrafts, and the famous Eastern Damascene artifacts.

The market, which is known for its commodities, is also famous for its merchants who are proficient in displaying and selling their products.

Ibrahim Al-Jarrah (a clothes salesman ) explained that every profession has its own nature and that the merchant must be smooth and flexible with customers and talk about his product in a brief and pleasant way.

He indicated that the presence of a large number of merchants within the market creates intense competition, especially during the holidays, which leads to the rise of different and creative promotional methods.

Rami Sasilah (a cloth  merchant ) explained that customers often visit specific stores because of previous experience, pointing out that selling goods under the current circumstances and rising prices is not an easy task.

The smile, honeyed words , and the lack of arrogance and boldness…. With these words, Anwar al-Shami, who has been working in the market for 40 years, summarized the concept of promotion. He stressed that the reputation of the merchant affects the reputation of his goods, as it is one of the main factors that attract people to some stores and not others.

Muhammad Al-Halabi (Abu Nabil) relies in promoting his goods on displaying it in a way that attracts customers into the store. He says, “The seller must be frank and not hide the defects of the offered products, as each product has specifications that determine its price”.

In turn, Akram Ashlan, a textile merchant, confirmed that his own method of promoting his various fabrics is to display them in consistent colors that affect the customer and make him attracted to the store in a spontaneous way in addition to making offers and discounts in light of the high prices of most products.

Many people  asserted that the sellers’ manner of speaking and the way they received them when entering the store played an important role in convincing them to buy the commodity in addition to the multiple options and the reasonable prices compared to other markets.

Amal Farhat