Friday market. The most famous popular market in the city of Al-Hasakah

Syrian News – Special

As soon as we arrived at the Friday market, located south of the Hal market and southwest of the "Qishla" in the city of Al-Hasakah, Hamza Al-Ibrahim's stall, his daughter Nouf and his son Gilan were the first to receive us, because it was right at the entrance to the market. The owners chose a special place, and filled it with various materials and goods of all varieties and sizes.

While Hamza's 20-year-old daughter Nouf was selling to two women, her father turned to us and said, "If it wasn't for Nouf, we wouldn't be able to sell these two women, because her presence attracts women to the stall. That's her mission: to deal with gentle sex, while Gillan and I deal with men."

Preferred Market

Abu Ghailan goes on to say that he used to open this stall in the Friday market for years, perhaps since its opening, as residents of al-Hasakah from different neighborhoods come to buy their needs for various items. The market includes everything: foodstuffs, detergents, canned goods, spices, shoes, clothes, vegetables and fruits, in addition to industrial items, furnishings, electrical and electronic appliances, heaters, kitchen utensils, and even sanitary items such as "faucets and fountains" and others. Some of them are new and what is used.

As for why residents prefer the Friday market, Abu Ghailan explains that reasonable prices are the most prominent factor. When we asked him about the profits he makes from his rug, he sufficed with a smart smile, saying, "Mastura, thank God."

Revival for all markets

Abu Ghailan adds that Friday revives the cardamom market and the entire downtown market, because the economic movement there was previously damaged after the old regime closed the internal transportation "garage" in the market, which housed all the "services" coming from neighborhoods and villages to the city center. Its closure, he says, came out of fear of the revolutionaries and to harass the population.

Not only that, but the old regime turned the garage into a landfill, distorting the cityscape, reducing the level of environmental sanitation to zero, and spreading odors, epidemics and insects.

Abu Ghailan expresses his joy at the new administration's decision to return the "garage" to its previous place in the Friday market, which will relax the residents and revive the economic movement in the cardamom market and the neighboring markets, which means that the good will prevail for everyone.

Diversified market

At the Friday Market, any visitor can only find what they are looking for, whether used or new goods. The market is characterized by a wide variety of materials and goods, from vegetables and fruits to cleaning materials, food, electronics, household items, car parts, mobile devices and accessories, shoes and clothing, and many more.

The market is characterized by an abundance of materials on the one hand, and affordable offerings on the other. Seller Abdulaziz Al-Khalaf attributes the drop in prices to lower costs, as vendors in the Friday market do not bear the costs of electricity, "amps", shop rent, taxes and fees. All they have to do is move their goods from the warehouse to the market, then offer and sell them, so that everyone is a winner: the seller and the buyer.

Tariq al-Hamoud, a seller, points out that the market includes low, medium and high-quality goods, but their prices are all lower than those of other markets.

Seller Hossam Abdel Qader says that the large supply and competition among sellers, especially in materials such as detergents, has led to a reduction in prices and breaking them in the hope of selling the largest possible quantity, which is in the interest of the consumer.

Salesman Jaber Al-Hamidi points out that there are seasonal goods, as heaters and heating materials disappear in the summer to be replaced by fans and cooling equipment.

Not the only one... But it's the most famous

Khaled al-Sattam, deputy head of the al-Hasakah city council, told Syria News that the Friday market is not the only popular market in the city, as there are daily popular markets that move between neighborhoods, such as the Thursday market, the Wednesday market, and others. The items displayed in it are almost the same and at the same prices.

However, the Friday market remains the largest and most famous, for several reasons: the large number of items on offer, the density of customers, and the operation of the "Garage Service" in its center, which allowed the residents of the various neighborhoods to easily access it, and some of them even prefer to buy a week's worth of necessities from it instead of going down to the city center daily.

A global phenomenon

 Al-Sattam stresses that popular markets are a global phenomenon and not exclusive to Al-Hasakah province or other Syrian provinces and regions, as this phenomenon exists in all countries of the world without exception, Arab and foreign, adding: "The difference between one country and another is only the organization.". There are countries that regulate these markets and subject them to multifaceted control, including supply, health, finance, and others, and there are countries that leave the rope on the west side of these markets without any regulation or control, depending on self-regulation and popular control, whether from the vendors themselves or from the market leaders and their customers from various social segments.

Friendly Regulation and Control

Al-Sattam concludes his speech by stressing that the Al-Hasakah City Council, once it resumes its activity, will supervise the Friday market and the rest of the popular markets, with the aim of organizing them and finding suitable places for them, so that they do not obstruct traffic and do not disturb the residents, while imposing control on the displayed materials to ensure consumer safety, protect the environment and property, while preserving the rights of sellers and buyers, and without imposing any fees that may lead to raising prices.

Friendly and harmless regulation and control

Al-Sattam concluded his speech by saying that the Al-Hasakah City Council, once it resumes its activity,  will supervise the Friday market and the rest of the popular markets with the aim  of organizing them and finding suitable places for them, so that they do not affect traffic and do not cause any inconvenience to the residents, in addition to monitoring the materials, goods and goods displayed in them, in order to ensure the lives of the residents, and to ensure the display of materials suitable for human consumption, and do not cause any harm either to public health, the environment, or to public or private facilities and properties. In order to guarantee the rights of sellers and buyers without imposing any fees or financial burdens that would lead to raising prices, whether in the Friday market or other popular markets throughout the city and its neighborhoods.