Al-Attarin Market (herbalists market) in Qamishli .. A destination for locals to buy spices, herbs and vegetable oils
The Attarin market in the city of Al-Qamishli is an essential destination for the people to buy what they need of perfumery, spices and some agricultural and animal products.
The market in the center of the city between the goldsmiths and cloth markets is characterized by its shops consisting of old mud buildings that extend on a single pattern, which are matched by shops located in the same way where the movement of pedestrians does not stop back and forth.
Bakri Al-Safi, the owner of a spice shop in the market, tells Sana correspondent that the market currently contains 22 stores that sell honey, all kinds of natural medicinal herbs, types of vegetable oils, spices, henna, pomegranate juices, handmade lemon, and fragrant essential oils alongside Arab animal ghee.
Al-Safi notes that the goods in the market come by buying them directly from farmers in the Syrian Al Jazeera region or from local merchants who come with them from Damascus, Aleppo, and Al-Ghab plain, in addition to some imported types.
Abu Ahmed, the owner of a store, says: I have been working in this field for about 13 years, and I heard about the history of the market, which was founded by some street vendors who used to use horses and wandered between villages to sell herbs, then they settled in mud shops that still exist until now.
Abu Ahmed adds that the one who works in the field of herbs must have experience in the science of herbs and for any recipe taken and the amount that must be addressed because there are similar herbs such as “the lion man and the grass of angels.”
Um Khaled Zabouneh said: I used to visit the market with my father when I was young, as we used to come from Al-Qahtaniyah to the market whose features have not changed despite the passage of years.
She adds: What distinguishes the market is easy access to it andit has everything necessary for housewives within it starting from different types of spices, to herbs that are indispensable in homes in addition to some essential oils.
Hiafaa Mafalani