Shopping in Syria
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Nabeel Fouad Salka
At the entrance to Souq al-Hamidiyya, Nabeel Fouad Salka sells high-quality ouds, along with mother-of-pearl decorated drums and other instruments.
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Anat
A wonderful one-of-a-kind store, the not-for-profit Anat, is the place to shop for original gifts and souvenirs handmade in a workshop in the Palestinian refugee camp from embroidered textiles produced by women in villages all over Syria. Traditional Syrian and Palestinian embroidery techniques are employed to create contemporary items, including coin and cosmetic purses and hand and shoulder bags (in hundreds of sizes), cushion covers, slippers and clothes.
The profits from the sale of these exquisite products are shared among the women.
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Radwan al-Taweel
Sixty-year-old Radwan has been engraving intricate arabesque patterns on copper and brass coffee pots, tea sets, lamps and trays since his grandfather taught him as a child. He takes about two days to decorate a large tray. Ask and he'll happily show you his well-used tools of the trade and his techniques. Radwan is very proud of the recycled brass shells, remnants from the war with Israel, that he engraves to produce umbrella/walking-stick holders - particularly the one he designed for Gadaffi.
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Tony Stephan's
Bustling Souq al-Hamidiyya is not only a wonderful place to shop for the atmosphere, but it also has some of the city's best antique and craft shops. Tony Stephan's at No 156 is renowned for the finest quality at the best prices, with a wide range of beautiful textiles, splendid mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture, old Bedouin jewellery, and intricately engraved copper and brassware. The quality is unsurpassed, so if you only have time to shop at one store, make it this one.
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Sebastian
On the fringes of the souq, this place stocks a small but superb range of high-quality textiles, tablecloths, inlaid backgammon boards and boxes. However, the speciality is rustic kilims, silk rugs and antique carpets. The multilingual owner, Mohammed, is highly knowledgeable, accepts credit cards and provides certificates, but most of all, he won't pressure you to get a sale.
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Oriental Center Arts
Saeed Zozoul creates exquisite furniture, mirror frames, picture frames, and decorative panels and ceilings for old Damascene houses by shaping raised patterns using gypsum and plaster, painting them colourfully, then carefully applying gold leaf to embellish them further. Each piece takes about four days and can be made to order in five.
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Oriental Batman
Approach the Old Town from the south, pass the riverside Choob coffeehouse, then swing off to the right, just before what looks like an arched gate but is in fact part of an old aqueduct. The lane passes the oddly named Oriental Batman, a junky antique-cum-bric-a-brac shop.
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Chahba Cham Palace
The best bookshop in Aleppo is at this hotel. It has a reasonable selection of books about Syria and the Arab world, some locally produced guidebooks, and a handful of novels in both English and French. There's also a limited range of international newspapers available.
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Khalil Haddad
For inlaid wooden boxes, chests and backgammon boards, visit Khalil Haddad, who fronts the actual workshop in which this exquisite work is produced. There are also many other workshops along Sharia Bab Sharqi and the surrounding streets with similar quality handicrafts.
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Mahmoud Shahin
Palestinian philosopher-writer-artist Mahmoud can be found most days in his tiny atelier drinking Turkish coffee and smoking cigarettes while he paints his small, striking paintings of veiled ladies, sensual shapes of women and other, often surreal, scenes.
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Elias Hayek
Damascus has no shortage of liquor stores selling beer, arak, spirits, and Syrian and Lebanese wine, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City and the modern town. A central liquor shop is Elias Hayek, on a side street running south off Al-Merjeh.
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Sharia al-Adasi
For nargileh/sheesha pipes, mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden boxes and backgammon boards visit the shops on Sharia al-Adasi, which is north of the main souq; walk east from the front of the Great Mosque and then head north up the third lane.
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Abdel Razek Mousali
Abdel Razek Mousali is the city's best music store, with an extensive selection of music, from the giants of the Arab world (Umm Kolthum, Fairouz, Farid al-Atrache and Abdel Halim Hafez) to jazz, classical and contemporary Arabic music.
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Souq Medhat Pasha
For red-and-white (Bedouin) and black-and-white (Palestinian) kufeyya (chequered scarves), dishdashas (men's white dress), tarbooshes (traditional red hats) and wooden canes, head to the covered Souq Medhat Pasha.
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Ibrahim Tawil
Great-nephew of the famous oud (Arabian lute) maker Hanna Nahaat, Anton (Tony) Ibrahim Tawil makes beautiful ouds in this dusty workshop. Expect to pay from S£3000 for a quality instrument suitable for learners.
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Librairie Avicenne
One block south of Cham Palace, Damascus' best bookshop stocks foreign-language publications with a decent range of Syria guidebooks, coffee-table books on the Middle East, phrase books, and novels in English and French.
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George Dabdoub
George Dabdoub, on the small square in front of the entrance to Azem Palace, sells jewellery, brass, icons, brocade and carpets. The courteous staff and fair prices make this an easy place to shop.
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Deeb Balah
Deaf sandal-maker Deeb handcrafts simple leather sandals and Turkish-style slippers with colourful brocade patterns. He helpfully reads lips in English, so you can order a size or style to suit.
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Souq al-Shouna
Souq al-Shouna is a handicrafts market behind the sheesha cafés on the southwestern side of the Citadel. While there are price tags, bargaining is still possible, although not required.
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Saahat al-Hatab
Saahat al-Hatab is the place to shop for gold jewellery, and there are a few more antique and carpet shops across the square, although prices tend to be higher than at Orient House.
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Al-Joubaili Soap Factory
Noses are set twitching by the fragrant smells emanating from Al-Joubaili Soap Factory, ages old and still producing soaps the traditional way using olive oil and bay laurel.
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Aleppo Dairy Qattib
Across the road from the National Museum, Aleppo Dairy Qattib stocks a range of delicious cheeses, olives and pickles; look for the red-and-white mirrored 'happy cow' sign.
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Hassab al-Kazaz & Sons
These beautiful, bold-coloured glass chandeliers, lamps, vases and decorative objects are hand-blown. Ask and they'll take you to the workshop out back where they're made.
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Main Market
The Main Market is just east of the Ugarit cinema. For bread and other groceries, there are a few little places down Sharia Ibrahim Hanano, off Sharia 14 Ramadan.
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Liquor Stores
You can get takeaway beer at a couple of Liquor Stores at the northern end of Sharia al-Mutanabi, near the citadel.
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