Souq al-Sarujiyya

A line of shops squeezed in on the west side of the citadel, between the fortress and the souqs. The name comes from the trade: saddles were made here, and the word for a saddler, sarraj, gave the souq its name. It was once also called Sarayjiyya and Sarujiyyin. The stalls now carry horse harness, leather work, cases and coarse tent canvas.

Getting there

It runs along Sanjakdar street, parallel to the Al-Hamidiyah Souq. Follow the west wall of the citadel and you end up inside it; coming out of Hamidiyah and walking one lane west works just as well.

What is sold

This is what remains of the Syria that worked with animals. Saddles, reins, saddle felt, leather straps, cases and sacking. Nothing here is a souvenir; the buyer is a farmer in from a village or a haulier looking for a cover for his truck. Prices follow the job and you have to ask.

Don’t confuse it with Souq Sarouja

The names are close, the places are not. Souq Sarouja is a quarter outside the walls, to the north-west; Sarujiyya is a souq at the foot of the citadel, inside the old line of the walls. Say Sarouja to a taxi driver and you will get out in the wrong place — use the citadel and Sanjakdar instead.

How long it takes

Half an hour. The run is short and the shops are narrow. Standing at a saddler’s bench to watch the stitching takes half that again.

Don’t miss

What is under your feet. The souq follows the line of the Aqrabani, one of the channels drawn off the Barada. The souqs of Damascus were laid out along the water channels, and this is the most useful of those lines rather than the most visible. Tanning leather needs water, so the trade settled next to it.