Nizwa’s old market continues to charm even after two centuries

Nizwa:  In the era of online shopping, the Nizwa market still physically attracts more than 1,000 shoppers every weekend looking to snap a bargain on anything from fruits, meat, and silverware to live animals in the hustle and bustle of a 250-year old historical town.

The food aroma wafting in the air, sounds and noises of auctioneers floating over the two century old market make it irresistible for shoppers driving every weekend to be part of a traditional marketplace that has never lost its old charm. They come from far to shop to the town that is located about 220 km from Muscat, the capital of Oman.

“You cannot smell the fragrance of oud (traditional perfume), hear the sizzling of meat on a charcoal oven or taste a sample of sliced mango when you order from online shopping because you would miss the romanticism of the Nizwa market and its old charms,” said Salah Al Kindy, 38, who drives to Nizwa at least one weekend a month from his home in Muscat.

A century-and-half-ago, Nizwa was the capital of Oman before it was moved to Muscat as the Sultanate’s maritime trade was expanded to its overseas territories in the East African coast. The old marketplaces has not changed. It still retains the old buildings that surround a formidable fort that was built in 1657 as a seat of the government.

With two iron-clad cannons standing at its old gates, the guards open the gate of the fort at 8 am in the morning every Friday for shoppers waiting in the queue to walk in to the market in the vast courtyard, where traders are patiently waiting for them.

Within thirty minutes, over a thousand shoppers walk in to browse through a maze of stalls around the wall of the fort. But the biggest ‘hit’ are the auctions with ‘exhibits’ ranging from jewellery, clothes, silver, antiques, perfumes, goats and food.

“I am a fifth generation from a family of auctioneers. I take 15 percent of whatever I sell in the auction from people who have something to sell to the shoppers,” Saif Al-Shaibany, 54-year old auctioneer in the Nizwa market, told Times of Oman.

Tour guides say that Nizwa draws all nationalities from different countries and it is part of the highlights of the excursion tours.

“We arrange tours for different nationalities to come see not only the market but the history here. There is a great charm in Nizwa that fascinates Europeans who want to see a sample of Oman’s historical way of life in a very historical town,” Mohammed Al Kaabi, an independent tour guide, said.