Pomegranate Here, There, And Everywhere.

A pomegranate is a pomegranate until you go to Istanbul.  There, it takes a life of its own and becomes much more than just another fruit, super healthy as it might be.

Walking from Taksim square to Istiklal street, past the roasting chestnuts into one of the sweets shop, you stop at a Turkish Delight or 'lukum' counter, where you have the first pomegranate encounter: pistachio and pomegranate delights.  It's only one among maybe thirty other flavors of lukums but it does stand out with its rich red and green colors.  If you are into lukums, and into trying something new, you will find it tastes as good as its looks.

Moving down towards the Galata tower, you come across colorful vibrant displays of open pomegranate fruits in small shops across both sides of the street. There's your second encounter. Alternating with big bright oranges or on their own, the color and the display is designed to make you stop.  And stop you will.  For a glass of rich dark red pomegranate juice or a 'gentler on the stomach' point and shoot Instagram moment.   

Into the shops around the Galata and more pomegranates pop up everywhere.  Ceramic pomegranate objects in every color and size, monochrome or with a multitude of designs. Pomegranate earrings, pendants, charms, bracelets.  You pick one, two or none and call it a day.  

The second day takes you into the Grand Bazaar, the Kapalı Çarşı,, where not surprisingly there are more pomegranates at every corner and shop, though here it seems hot apple tea is more popular than fresh pomegranate juice.  But what's a few fresh pomegranates less when you have thousands of embroidered ones all over the textiles of the bazaar?  Because it's here where pomegranates reign. On table runners, bed covers, table cloths, throws, bags, shoes, cushions, you name it.  And if it's not the full pomegranate, it's the pomegranate flower.  

Bright bold red and burgundy pomegranate motifs.  Embroidered by hand on special old Suzani pieces by girls and women of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and nearby countries or new machine made ones, not as special but still bright and beautiful.  And all a reflection of the importance of pomegranates in the cultures of the region where pomegranates symbolize health, fertility and prosperity.  

So now you know, next time you have a gift to offer to newlyweds or to anyone wishing them good luck and health, pick something with a pomegranate motif.  And next time you are in Istanbul, try all the delicious sweets and savory dishes made with pomegranate. 

To see our picks of pomegranate objects from Istanbul, go to  www.habatiq.com.  You'll find some jewelry and suzanis, though no lukums or fresh juice.  You'll have to go to Istanbul for that.

Fes, The Medina

Old walled city. Beautiful Riads. Narrow streets. History. Culture. Character.  

Fes, the Medina, with its winding narrow lanes, its old city walls, and its rich heritage 

of Moorish culture and hospitality is on our revisit list in 2014.  

If you haven't been, and hadn't considered it and if you love old cities, 

going back in time a bit and most important Moroccan rugs, then put Fes on your visit list too.

Taxi Anecdotes From Cairo, Delhi And Istanbul

• Cairo
• Me:'صباح الخير'. Good morning
• Taxi :'صباح ال ورد والفل والياسمين' It's a good morning smelling of flowers, jasmine and rose, meaning he's very happy I got into his taxi.
• Me:'خان ال خليلي من فضلك'. Khan al Khalili please.
• Taxi:' من عينيي' From my eyes, meaning I'll serve you with all the love in my heart and eyes.
• A few minutes later:
• Taxi:'حضرتك منين'. Your honor is from where? meaning where are you from?
• Me:'من لبنان' From Lebanon
• Now the taxi driver is positively beaming with joy:
• Taxi:'احلى عالم، اجمل ناس' The most beautiful people, the nicest people, meaning he loves Lebanese women.
• Me:'شكراً' Thank you
• Taxi :'.اهلاً و سهلاً ،حضرتك شرفيتينا, دي مصر نورت. 'You are very welcome, we are honored by your visit. Egypt is all now basked in light because you are here.
• Me:شكراً Thank you.
• Taxi:'احلى عالم' Nicest people..
• Istanbul
• Me:Good morning
• Taxi:Ha
• Me:Spice Market please
• Taxi:Nülöhgş inöş çüöft bşöouy şiçömnh.
• Me:Spice market, you know, near Eminonu.
• Taxi:şlkömdcd şcödlm ğipoıuhn ölkşişfgok üçiğppkvfov!!!!
• Me:It's also called Egyptian bazaar, you know the big mosque near the sea?
• Taxi:Aşklklkömçüüğm *#öçkhga iğpşönhll *#*! Şiğçüöki*!^ ömnöbbdhk öcmğilkı öçliğfj!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Me:You know where they sell lüküm, spice, food. There are pigeons in front of the mosque there and trams and boats. You know, Egyptian bazaar.
• Taxi:Hşlklklkömçüüğm. *#öçkhga iğpşönhll *#*! Şiğçüöki*!^ ömnöbbdhk öcmğilkı öçliğfj!!!!!!!!!!! MÖÇKGŞ ÜİDGJVM*#% FOĞİŞÖ SJFĞİŞÇÖÇVBSU SBVĞUHRHÇÖÜĞ *#**ÖŞİOFG FCKĞŞİ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GET OUT!!
• Delhi
• Me:Good morning.
• Taxi:Good morning madam.
• Me:Dilli Haat please.
• Taxi:Madam, you want to buy pashmina, carpet, sari, I take you to emporium. Three floors, very much cheap.
• Me:No thank you, just take me to Dilli Haat.
• Taxi:Ok madam.
• A few minutes later:
• Taxi:Madam, we are here.
• Me:But this is not Dilli Haat.
• Taxi:Madam, but this is better. There is pashmina, sari, carpet, very very cheap madam. Three floors madam, much cheap madam.
• Me:I really don't want to. Please take me to Dilli Haat.
• Taxi:But madam, this is very good, emporium, four floors, pashmina, sari, carpets, very very much cheap madam, just look.
• Me:No thank you. Please take me to Dilli Haat.
• Taxi:Madam, just look, just just look, pashmina, sari, carpets, very very much cheap madam, five floors, emporium, very very good madam. You look madam, no buy, just look.
• Me:
• To friends in Cairo, Istanbul and Delhi, I love your countries with any type taxi, and to those of you trying Google translate with the Turkish part, good luck.... Samar Dani, traveler for Habatiq.

Dancing In Yerevan

Dancing in Yerevan

It’s one thing when you see folk dance from any country on TV and quickly change the station, and completely another when you see an unplanned live performance on your first visit to its capital city.

Outside the Matenadaran museum in Yerevan, a group of young men and women dressed in the national colors and beautiful costumes, perform traditional folk dance from Armenia in celebration of Yerevan’s 2795th anniversary.

Happy Anniversary Yerevan.

40 Shades of Pink

If you are reading the title and groaning, “Not again!”, you’re right.  But this is not a title trying to ride the 50 shades wagon, it’s just a statement from a guide explaining the color of the buildings in Yerevan.

As per the guide,Yerevan used to be called the Pink City because it was built using the ‘Tuff’ stone, a stone from Armenia that comes in 40 shades of pink. Somewhere else on the internet, they say the Pink City name comes from the ‘flamboyant characters of Yerevan’s young population’. More interesting!

Nowadays though, tuff is not used as much in the buildings and a little grey is creeping in. The guide does not say how many shades of grey are used though:)

But pink or grey, Yerevan is still a very nice city to walk around, especially this time of year before the winter turns it into all shades of white.

When You Need A Break From Khan El Khalili

When you need a break from trying to find some treasures in the small alleys of Khan Al Khalili bazaar, step outside into Al Muizz street and you’ll find this beautiful antique shop full of its own old treasures.

Busts of Egyptian leaders, old movie posters, lanterns, brass and copper trinkets and of course a vintage Coca Cola plate, all beautifully displayed to the full height of the old building facade.

N.B. If you’re not traveling to Egypt soon, you can check our own selection from Cairo here.

Kundan: The Word to Add to Your Jewelry Thesaurus

You will probably know the word Kundan if you are from India, you work with jewelry or are a jewelry enthusiast curious about different jewelry styles and making. If you are not any of the above and still know the word, good for you, because you belong to a very select group.

Now, let’s assume you are reading this, you have never heard of the word Kundan and are wondering why you should be interested.

For one, it’s always good to learn something new. You never know where it takes you.

For another, there are about several pieces in our Silver & Glass Collection carrying the word Kundan and it will come in useful to know what they are.

So what is Kundan?

Well, now that you have asked, Kundan actually means pure sparkling gold but it has become a word to describe a technique used in India for setting gems with gold foil in a metal base.

The technique results in a distinctive shape resembling a mosaic or paved setting. While started in the palaces of Rajasthan using gold and diamonds, there are now different gems used as well as different material such as silver and glass Kundans.

So, here it is. Kundan, your word for the day.

Around The Bazaar

When You Need a Break From the Bustle of the Bazaar

There’s nothing like going out into the fresh air outside the Kapali Çarsi of Istanbul when you have been there for more than two hours. As its name in Turkish implies, it’s a covered market and a huge covered market at that. Although the air inside is smoke free, after a couple of hours in the bazaar, a breath of fresh air is always welcome, and the small streets and alleyways around the Nurosmaniye gate provide just the break needed.

N.B.f you’ve never been to the Kapali Çarci and don’t have plans to visit soon, have a look at our Turkey collectionhttp://www.habatiq.com/turkey/ for our picks from there.

Is it a Souq, a Bazaar, or a Khan?

Well, they are all about shopping so if this is the only thing you need to know, you might want to skip reading this part and start shopping right-away at Habatiq.

But if you’re interested in knowing the difference, read on…

A Souq is long; a Khan is square; a Bazaar is a maze of lines, squares and rectangles, and in all, you feel as if you’re going around in circles. You leave one shop selling ceramics, to the neighboring selling ceramics to a third shop selling ceramics. Then to the leather, green slippers in one shop, the best slippers in the other, pointed slippers in a third, again and again until your eyes get hazy with the sights, your nose gets enough of all the ‘natural’ leather smells and your ears have their fill of Please Come In’.

Other than that:

Souq is the Arabic word for the open air markets common in the old cities of the Middle East and North Africa (Unless you’re somewhere like Dubai where it is now more open air-conditioned than open air ).

Bazaar is the Persian word for a covered, enclosed market with a rich collection of goods. ( This has nothing to do with the other bazaar, the word used for charitable sales events and fairs)

Khan is an Arabic word meaning inn or hotel. The khan was a rest house, one for traveling merchants to rest along their journey on the trade trails. Khans then grew into permanent places for some merchants and travelers, hence the Soap Khan, the Tailors Khan etc…

Khan el Khalili is a different story though. It’s a khan, a souk, and a bazaar, but its story will wait for another post. For now, click here to see our finds from Khan Al Khalili.

N.B.The picture above, taken in Turkey, is neither of a Souq nor of a Khan but you can call it an all-in-one bazaar.

One from Britain, One from Germany. Two Words About Silver You Should Know

One from Britain, One from Germany. Two Words About Silver You Should Know

• Sterling: When used with the word Silver, it means the highest quality silver you can have. In scientific terms, it means an alloy ( before you look it up, it means a mix of metals ); an alloy made of 925 parts of Silver and 75 parts of copper, hence the name 925 or 92.5 silver. It’s the highest quality because pure silver (999 parts) is too soft to be used on its own and needs to be mixed with a metal such as copper to harden it and make it possible to work with.

• German: If like many of us (especially the BMW/Audi/Mercedes fans), you think that the word German means quality, in this instance, you’ll be mistaken. German as in German Silver, is actually not silver at all. It’s an alloy, you know the word by now, of copper, nickel with zinc, lead or tin. The term German comes from the fact that it was discovered by a chemist from Germany and while it has its uses in industry, the term can be quite misleading when referring to jewelry.

So how do you know what you’re buying?

Jewelers don’t try to pass off German Silver as ‘real’ silver but some of them might just stop at answering your question of ‘Is this real silver?" with a reply that 'It's German Silver' without elaborating further. It's up to you to know or ask what this means and then decide if you like the jewelry even if it's not real silver. Just know that the German Silver does not follow silver market prices, is cheap, and that due to the presence of nickel or lead, it might not be the best gift for someone with metal allergies.

N.B. Unless otherwise stated, all jewelry at Habatiq, The Silver Collection, are sterling silver. To avoid confusion, we do not use the term ‘silver’ to refer to metal alloy jewelry. In any case, when in doubt, contact us to get more details. You now know what to do if we say it’s German……

Dilli Haat Market :The Bazaar for Beginners

If Delhi is your first stop on a visit to India, you will probably be wondering where’s the colourful India you had been hearing about.

Going around New Delhi in your hired taxi or Tuk Tuk or walking in Old Delhi among the bicycles, rickshaws and hundreds of people going about their work, you won’t see many bright colors.

It depends of course on your perception of Delhi and your expectations, on what you have read and had been told, but at the end, your eyes will be darting all around, your five senses will be on full alert, and your energy will be drained when you are in the traditional bazaars of Delhi ; even if you are a seasoned shopper and haggler.

Not so in Dilli Haat Market in South Delhi. Built in 1994 to give artisans from around India a chance to sell their work, the Dilli Haat open air market is not to be compared to the old traditional bazaars of India with their sheer variety, size and long history. Still, it is a refreshing, car and motorcycle free easy break from the extremely busy and sometimes nerve racking old bazaars.

The stalls in the Dilli Haat Market are rented on a rotating basis for 15 days intervals to craftsmen and artisans from different regions of India. The idea is to give a ‘village’ market feel and look to the place. Stalls of food reflecting the different flavors and complex names from Gujarat, Maharastra, Jaipur, Kerala and other areas abound. This is not top Indian cuisine of course, but there you can at least learn about the different regional food and pick up some Indian spices that you won’t know how to use but will keep your suitcase smelling of Delhi all the way home.

Painting For A Living

Warli. Madhubani. Gond. Patachitra. What????

If you are in Delhi and visit the Dilli Haat Market, you’re bound to see the many stalls selling paintings of birds, peacocks, gods, goddesses, elephants, trees, moons, suns, fish and others.  Hundreds of paintings in each stall, small, big, framed or not, hung up like a school art project, stacked or strewn around waiting for someone to start picking.

It’s not a school project though. This is, in fact, a business.  Mostly a family business and even a community or village business.  The sister and the aunt paint, but they don’t speak English or the wife paints, and the husband takes care of the selling. They come from the different states and areas of India carrying with them their own or their families’ paintings to ‘show and tell’ for 15 days in the Dilli Haat Market in Delhi.

Someone inevitably speaks some English and will tell you that these are hand painted on handcrafted paper using cow dung and rice soot.

Cow dung? Isn’t that taking organic too far?

Now before you start twitching your nose with imagined unpleasant scents or beaming with delight (depends on which part of the world you come from ; if you are Lebanese like me, you might be doing the first.  A European will probably appreciate the natural touch). Anyhow, before you do any of these, you should know that this is meant as an up-sell and as I was told by more knowing persons afterwards, it is most of the time not true.

Painting with burnt rice soot and cow dung on mud plastered background is an interesting story though and if not true for most of these paintings; it is true for what was used in the original work done by the same tribes in India for which these paintings are named.

Dilli Haat is of course, not the place to go to if you want original pieces by specialized artists, but it is a good place to start for an introduction to these different tribal art types.  And it’s a great place to see how people can make a living out of art even if it is sometimes only simple drawing and colouring.

If you are already just a little bit interested, check our current collection of Madhubani and Warli paintings, still growing and dung free, and look out for future posts for more on tribal art from India.

The Buzz of The Bazaars

It’s a Souk in Tripoli, a Khan in Cairo, a Bazaar in Istanbul, a Market in Delhi.
The names, the places, the cultures, the merchandise, except of course for the much touted “authentic” Pashminas from China, are different, but the vibrancy and energetic chaotic sights and sounds are all the same. 

You avoid bumping into the crowds of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, jump out of the way of a bicycle or rickshaw in Delhi, rub shoulders with a mule in the old city of Fes and dodge hawkers outside their shops in Khan Al Khalili.

You drink apple tea in Istanbul, wonder whether you dare drink anything in Delhi and smoke Shisha in Cairo.
You can’t wait to get out, you wish you had more time.  You are stressed, or you are having fun.  
You wonder at past glories and question what has become.  
You learn a few new words; you haggle for all your worth,  and you carry home a trinket or more.

That’s the bazaar.
And that’s where the journey starts.