IRAQ: Baghdad's centuries-old traditional souvenir and copper market is fading away

Record ID: 1529618

  • Title: IRAQ: Baghdad's centuries-old traditional souvenir and copper market is fading away
  • Date: 30th July 2008
  • Summary: PICTURE OF DAWOOD SALMAN AL-SAFFAR AND HIS FATHER POSTED ON WALL OF SHOP
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2008 10:35
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Iraq
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVAF519XGTTNRJIYZ51I7D93K3E6
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: In the heart of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, one of the country's oldest and most famous landmarks is slowly dwindling away.
    The centuries-old souvenir and copper market, commonly known as ''Souk al-Safafeer,'' is struggling to keep its doors open due to a slump in business caused by the absence of foreign tourists and lack of government support.
    Fifty-eight-year-old coppersmith Dawood Salman al-Saffar grew up amidst the market's hustle and bustle, the sound of of hammer upon copper and foreign tourists sifting through locally-made copper coffee pots, plates and souvenirs engraved with scenes of Iraq's historic and religious sites.
    Saffar, who learned the craft from his father and accompanied him to the market from early childhood, says the absence of tourists in his conflict-ridden country has put his business at a standstill.

    "Nowadays there are no foreigners at all. Foreigners used to come in the 1980s and 1970s. Al-Rashid Street was open, a tourist car would stop and the tourists would come and shop. We would stay open until midnight or one o'clock after midnight. Tourists would come to shop at midnight without guards or security. They would come do their shopping and leave. Nowadays you don't see any foreigners. You hear about foreigners but where are the foreigners? You do not see them. Definitely this has affected our business. There were foreigners year round, almost every month of the year. All of Europe used to come here," Saffar told Reuters Television.
    Foreigners stopped coming to Iraq after insurgents began using kidnappings and grisly beheadings in their campaign to drive the United States and its allies out of the country, following the 2003 U.S.-led attack of the country. More than 100 foreigners have been kidnapped since April 2004, some for political leverage and others in exchange for a ransom. More than 20 of the kidnapped have been killed.
    Al-Safafeer market is housed in a series of 13th century buildings originally constructed as school stables during the reign of al-Mustansir Billah, the Abbasid Caliph who ruled from Baghdad from 1226 to 1242. The original stables underwent several transformations, once housing school kitchens and then serving as a tourist attraction before they were taken over by coppersmiths.
    Once rich with local handmade copper products, the market is now dominated by imported Chinese copperware. Saffar says the absence of government support is partly to blame for his craft dying out.

    "We get no support from the Ministry of Culture or Information. No one supports us, for example, by supplying us with copper. Imported Chinese copperware products have affected our business. Imports (of Chinese copperware) have brought our business to a halt. We are living now on chances waiting for someone to come and ask for something. Before, all the factories used to provide us with copper, now copper is very expensive. We import it at 15,000 to 16,000 (Iraqi) Dinars per kilo (about 13-14 U.S. dollars -- USD), whereas imported Chinese copperware is sold at 10,000 (Iraqi) Dinars (about 9 USD)," Saffar said.
    Meanwhile, sluggish business activity has forced many of the craftsman to sell their shops to textile traders, who now occupy over 40 of the market's shops.
    ''Business is dead. The (coppersmith's trade) is going extinct because each one wants to live and make a living for his family. Owners of clothing shops entice coppersmiths with money to sell their shops and because coppersmiths have not seen money for years, they yield into selling (their shops). It is a matter of steadfastness. Even if I go bankrupt tomorrow, then I will also have to sell this shop," Saffar said.
    Saffar's copper workshop is one of only eight remaining coppersmiths in the market.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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