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Roll Up! Roll Up! For The Globe
Souk Experience
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One
of the beautifully arranged crafts stalls at the Souk.
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As
I entered the Globe Souk[1], a replica
of a traditional Arabian market, the absolute noise was the first thing that hit
me. I was overwhelmed by this frenzy of activity located in the basement hall of
the Globe Exhibition Center in London. The lack of natural light and the low
orchestrated artificial lighting gave it an evening atmosphere and almost
twisted one’s concept of time. One could easily lose oneself here. So much was
happening in such a small space, yet everything was set out perfectly
proportioned, like a chocolate box—all I had to do was choose the first
tantalizing morsel.
The
Souk was packed with visitors, stalls, a Peter Saunders exhibition, a
gallery of exhibits from The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts, and a café.
I didn’t know where to start in this cave-like dream of a souk.
However, my son’s irritation informed me that I’d better feed him his lunch
first before embarking on my whirlwind tour. So, when I saw the Qur’an
reciter’s Moroccan seat was vacant, I promptly sat myself down to feed my son
his lunch of miniature cheese sandwiches. This was to the surprise and delight
of passers-by, who may have thought me slightly audacious, or may have envied me
for getting there first!
With
baby fed and reunited with his father and elder sister, I was left to briefly
indulge myself in The Globe Souk experience. On offer were lush dark blue
and green glass hookahs (tall water pipes to burn fruit-flavored tobacco), for
those who wanted to rekindle memories of smoking them in an old café in Cairo,
Tunis, or Fez. There were the ubiquitous frames filled with modern and
traditionally styled Arabic calligraphy, as well as Moroccan lanterns and lamps,
lit up to add to the authentic atmosphere. In front of the stage was a wide
selection of delicious Lebanese sweets and savories, which I was fortunate
enough to sample. I must say, the rose water in the sweets was extremely
fragrant, making them highly delectable. Opposite, was the Palestinian General
Delegation’s sea of blue Palestinian ceramic ware, and wooden pieces that
included a chess set and a model of the holy city of Jerusalem.
I
managed to escape into the gallery of traditional art exhibits for a few
moments. The tent canopy over it kept out most sound, making it an oasis of
peace surrounded by the cacophony of voices and perpetual movement. The pieces
consisted of mainly geometric shapes created in mediums of ceramic, paint, and
wood, which were framed and hung. There were pictures of a Jesus figure, and
elsewhere a calligraphy piece of Allahu Ahad (Allah is One), painted
white on a black background. The other exhibits were just as eclectic. Another I
viewed was a selection of poems dedicated to various religious subjects, written
in old English script and with miniature watercolor pictures set beside the
verses.
Rezia
Wahid creates exquisitely fine hand-woven textiles using a contemporary loom.
She is part of a new boom in the East London arts scene and is based in the
Cockpit Arts Studios. Her loom reminded me of antique looms, and I was sure it
would have felt at home in a museum. Rezia was, nevertheless, very proud of her
elegant workhorse and, more importantly, of the beautiful results—fine pure
silks and mixed silk and Egyptian cotton, hand-woven textiles for clothing or
frames. One piece with a blue border was homage to the famous Turkish blue found
mostly in Iznik ceramics, which were also on offer in the Souk.
As
I was chatting to someone I hadn’t seen for years, a man in front of me
dressed in a thawb (Arab men’s long garment) shouted “stop thief!”
making me jump out of my skin. I thought there had been a genuine mugging, but
it turned out to be a lively start to another of the Khayaal Theatre Group’s Souk
Stories, on show at the stage besides the stalls. Phew!
Clive
Rogers deals in oriental rugs from Central Asia and the Near East. He also sells
embroideries, shawls, pictures, and furniture from the two regions. He had a
particularly elegant pine and cedar chair from Damascus with exquisite mother of
pearl inlay that is circa 1890.
I
also got chatting to Farrah Irfan, who is the director of her own clothing
company for Pakistani women. She specializes in silk and chiffon outfits,
handmade embroideries and shawls, and Afghani handicrafts.
The
ringing of a bell breaks up the continuous hustle and bustle to announce the
next show of Souk Stories, and some people start to head for the stage. I
head for the Peter Saunders exhibition, but I end up detouring to a stall with
Chinese-Arabic calligraphy by the hand of one Haji Noor Deen. He is a Chinese
Muslim who has a unique style of combining Chinese script with Arabic in various
ways on paper scrolls. I observed an astonishing piece that read “I love
Muhammad” in Chinese, but that contained the Shahadah (the Muslim Testimony of
Faith) inside it in a tiny feathery Chinese-like Arabic script, which seems to
be his signature style. At the top was written Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim,
which is Arabic for “In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most
Merciful,” in a geometric style, but not Arabic; he explained that it was more
Chinese than Arabic. Another piece was the more familiar rendition of the
ninety-nine names of Allah in Arabic, with a hadith (saying of the Prophet
Muhammad) below it: “It is reported by Abu Hurayrah that whoever memorizes the
ninety-nine Names Allah will enter Paradise.”
Before
I could discuss anything else about his work with Haji Noor Deen, I had to leave
as the Souk was closing. On the stage, there was an auction of the stage
props and the seat that I had previously rested upon, the crowd was getting
excited and was going nowhere. So much for home time!
If
you are interested in contacting any of the stallholders mentioned in the
article, please see below:
Rezia
Wahid: info@woven-air.com
Clive
Rogers: www.orient-rug.com
Farrah
Irfan: irfanraja99@hotmail.com
Haji
Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang: www.hajinoordeen.com
*Zahrah
Awalah holds a BA in Arabic language and an MA in Islamic studies from the
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. She resides in London
with her husband and two children. You can contact her at z_awaleh@yahoo.com
[1]
The Souk was part of the autumn 'Shakespeare and
Islam' season, which helped launch Islam Awareness
Week (22-28 Nov 04) in the UK. The Souk was designed
by graduate students and alumni of The Prince's School
of Traditional Arts, London. For more information
about the 'Shakespeare and Islam' season go to
www.shakespeares-globe.org
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