Souk in a Slump A century-old institution, Baghdad's copper market fading away
              Monday, September 11, 2000
              By Waiel Faleh BAGHDAD, Iraq
              — Sultan Mohammed hasn't found it easy to give up his link with history.

              Even though he closed his own shop in Baghdad's famed coppersmiths souk a few months ago, he visits
              often, plunging into the smoke of forge fires and the musical clang of hammers against metal.

              But with each visit, Mohammed finds the song of the coppersmiths souk a bit quieter, the clamor of its
              crowds a bit more subdued.

              Plastic goods are now being sold at a narrow shop that once offered copper coffee pots, plates and
              souvenirs engraved with scenes of Iraq's historic and religious sites.

              "They are closing one at a time," Mohammed said. "It reminds me of a dying man."

              Coppersmiths blame the slump in business on bad relations between Iraq and neighboring countries since
              the Persian Gulf War, competition from pots made of cheaper metals in Southeast Asia and higher rents.

              Al-Safafer Souq — the Coppersmiths Market — has been a Baghdad institution for more than a century.
              The history of the area stretches back even further.

              Ancient Market

              The narrow stalls built of yellow bricks that now house workshops and stores were originally stables for a
              school built in the 13th century by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah. Centuries later, the stalls were
              turned into school kitchens.

              The school closed in the 19th century and became a tourist attraction. Slowly, coppersmiths began renting
              the stalls.

              Graceful Coffee Pots

              While all kinds of copper goods are available, the market is famous worldwide for its coffee pots. They
              come in classic vase shapes mottled by hammering. The smallest hold about a half pint, the largest just over
              a gallon.

              Pots from Baghdad "have their original flavor which we ... cannot find in other pots," said Mohammed
              Dikheel, a rare visitor to the souk from the United Arab Emirates.

              Dikheel was looking for a large pot for serving guests at "diwans," traditional receptions at which local
              leaders meet their constituents to sort out problems, mourn the dead or celebrate weddings.

              Dikheel said it used to be easy to do business with Baghdad's coppersmiths, ordering items that would be
              delivered in a few days. But Iraq's trade routes these days have been shattered by war and U.N. sanctions,
              so Dikheel would have to carry his pot home himself — if he was lucky enough to find what he was looking
              for. Most large pots are now available only by special order.

              Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait soured its relations with many of its neighbors. The Gulf War forced Iraq to
              retreat and it has been under crippling U.N. trade sanctions ever since.

              Ammar Jassim, 65, one of the oldest men to work in al-Safafer Souq, says rents charged by the government
              have gone up too much. For some stalls, the annual rent has soared from 100,000 dinars a decade ago to
              almost 20 million dinars today as the value of the dinar has plunged and the economy has shriveled, leaving
              Iraqis little money to spend.

              Government officials say rents are determined by fair, public bidding.

              Lovers of Baghdad's copper art fear the craftsmen will soon disappear from the Coppersmiths Souk.

              "There is very little I can do for them," said Siham Taqi, 58, a retired teacher who can afford to buy only a
              few pieces a year herself. "Their main business depended on the foreign buyers who used to come to Iraq
              especially to buy huge quantities of copper-made products."