Souq al-Manakhliya

Not a tourist souq but a working one. It runs inside the old walls of Damascus, between the citadel to the west and the Amara quarter to the east. A branch of the Barada separates it from Souq al-Asruniya to the south, and it comes out on King Faisal Street to the north. The name comes from the trade: sieves and riddles were made here.

What is sold

Sievemaking has all but gone. Today the souq deals in hardware, hand tools and industrial fittings, with building materials alongside. Its goods had a reputation for being both good and cheap, which earned it the nickname the Japan of Damascus — less a compliment than a description.

Getting there

Put the citadel at your back and walk east towards Amara; the roofline gives the souq away. You can also enter from the King Faisal Street end.

How long it takes

Half an hour. It is a single long line and you walk it without turning off.

What to see

The street was later roofed over with sheet metal and vaulting, and a glazed dome sits at the crossing, dropping light through the middle of the day. The shops are narrow and shuttered, with the workbench spilling into the lane. This is still a place of making: welding, cutting, fitting.

Don’t miss

The painted canvas stretched under the dome. Old Damascus is drawn on it: a green tram, a domed mosque, a drinks seller in a fez with a brass urn on his back. It has faded over the years and torn in places; nobody repairs it and nobody takes it down. Look up as you enter or you will walk straight past it.

A custom of the souq

Traders here tell of a rule among them: whoever makes the first sale of the morning sends the next customer along to a neighbour who has not yet opened his account. If you meet it, it is not haggling but etiquette.