Results Local history and culture Nizwa

CATTLE MARKET

Local history – Culture
5/5
5 review

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Devant la citadelle, Nizwa, Oman
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2024
Recommended
2024

We get up early, like the Omanis: no good trading in hot weather. The huge car park already sets the tone with its dozens of vans filled with goats, sheep and cows. In Nizwa, every Friday, cattle are haggled over! In the centre of the square, seated in a circle, a host of potential buyers watch as sellers parade past, tethering their cattle, waiting to be accosted. Everything happens very quickly and you have to exercise your neophyte's eye to try to understand the ritual of negotiation: an interested buyer asks for the price of the animal as the seller passes by and sometimes waits several turns before starting a negotiation, always quite fast and accompanied by a check of the good vitality of the animal (state of the teeth, stomach, legs). Buzzing of commercial conversations, alpine pastures, haggling, in the smell of cattle and the colours of the East. Each end of the square is a scene of life, almost a painting: old nomads with dull eyes, almost blinded by the sun, men in traditional costumes with their hands on sticks, rare Bedouin women with faces protected by a burqa. The deep and traditional sultanate: the spectacle of real life, a cultural plunge into a part of everyday life amidst the dust raised by the hooves of animals. Don't forget your camera for great shots, especially of faces, and take advantage of the hustle and bustle to capture attitudes without ever being pushy.

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Members' reviews on CATTLE MARKET

5/5
5 reviews
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The ratings and reviews below reflect the subjective opinions of members and not the opinion of The Little Witty.

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niniche37
Visited in march 2022
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y aller de bonne heure est primordial , au centre de la place les acheteurs sont assis en cercle et regardent défiler les vendeurs promenant leur bétail à la longe ,les transactions se passent très vite
à voir absolument
Herobi
Visited in january 2020
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Service
Originality
Un marché aux bestiaux très original ou l on peut admirer les omanais qui vendent leurs bêtes et on a pu voir des femmes berbères habillées en noir. Des bébés dromadaires étaient aussi présents
J-ML
Visited in october 2017
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Originality
Nous y étions à 6h30, avant la cohue des véhicules des "autochtones" avec leurs remorques de chèvres, moutons et dromadaires. Un vrai marché de "maquignons": hommes en costumes traditionnels et quelques femmes en abaya noire avec leur masque.. Si vous êtes à Nizwa le vendredi : à ne pas rater!!!
futedumonde
Visited in november 2015
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One traditional Omani moment! Friday, between 7:00 and 9:00, sellers of goats around a platform and exhibit their animals. Place to be in the centre of the circle and simply to observe this fabulous roundabout, exchange of words but also of eyes!
pat66
Value for money
Service
Originality
Go there early and to stay a little higher to understand how the sale works. Sometimes scuffles when the animals turn, pay attention if you are inside the circle. And if you want to buy, provide with small stones! To see for the atmosphere. Women bearing the leather masks do not want to be photographed most of the time, respect that…

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