Do not buy from the first air-conditioned wonderland you enter. Often, the same
wares are sold from closet-like alcoves for a lot less. There's a lot of supply in this
market-remember the rules of economics and use them to your advantage.
There's no backing off-you must be prepared to pay any price you offer.
getting the best deal: the fine art
of haggling In any of Israel's numerous flea markets and shuks, all
budget travelers must participate in one fundamental struggle: defending the honor of
English-speaking people everywhere by not getting ripped off (too much). Many
describe bargaining as a dance, and to avoid stepping on anyone's toes or revealing
that you have two left feet, keep the following tips in mind:
- Learn the numbers one through ten and basic phrases ("lo!", "kama zeh?", for more
see inside back cover). If you can get through the experience without having to resort
to English, more power (and shekels) to you.
- Be prepared to walk away empty-handed and don't show too much interest in an
item. Keep in mind that every vendor from Akko to Jerusalem probably has 30 of them.
If they discover you've become attached to an item, the battle is already lost.
- A counter-offer of one-half the offered price is generally appropriate, but use lower
fractions for prices that seem unduly high.
- At some point in the bargaining process, you are expected to start walking away and
the salesmen generally reserve the biggest price drop for that point in the "dance".
- Finally, if you really want something but he just won't go down another shekel, keep
in mind how much one shekel is actually worth and just surrender and buy the chintzy
little thing.
Much decorative masonry in the souq is characteristic of Mamluk architecture.
Paintings of the Dome of the Rock and the Ka'ba shrine of Mecca adorn doorways;
a painting of the latter signifies that a member of the family has been on the kajj,
the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. The red and green painted dots on
some whitewashed doors and walls are not graffiti; they too indicate the hajj.
BAB AL-SILSILAH ST. The stretch of Bab al-Silsilah St. (Gate of the Chain)
extending from the end of David St. to the Temple Mount is partly founded on the
ancient Mamluk causeway that crossed the Tyropoeon Valley, linking the upper
city to the temple platform. There are sites to see here, but none to enter. At the
end of the first alley to the left stands the Khan al-Sultan (or al-Wakala), a remark-
ably preserved Crusader-period caravanserai, an inn which provided lodging for
merchants and their donkeys. Just past Misgav Ladakh St. (further down the street
on the right) is the Tashtamuriya Building, housing the tomb of its namesake (d.
1384). The multitude of Mamluk institutions can be attributed to a system of suc-
cession that prevented them from passing wealth on to their children; construct-
ing public institutions was the best way to preserve their legacy.
Continuing down Bab al-Silsilah St. to its intersection with Western Wall St. (Ha-
Kotel) leads to the Kilaniya Mausoleum, with its characteristic Mamluk stalactite
half-dome. The Turba Turkan Khatun (Tomb of Lady Turkan) is at #149. At the end of
Bab al-Silsilah St. on the right and often surrounded by tour guides in training, is
the Tankiziya Building, built by a Mamluk slave who worked his way up to become
governor of Damascus in 1312, and then back down to imprisonment and execu-
tion in Alexandria 30 years later. This venerated structure, on the site of the origi-
nal seat of the Sanhedrin, is currently controlled by the Israelis due to its
proximity to the Western Wall and Temple Mount.