Eid Habta Market - A Bonanza

The Eid Habta Market, traditionally a strong one ahead of the observance of Eid Al Adha, this week offered a diversity of traditional wares for the religious and cultural occasion ahead and has again provided a significant boost to Al Dakhiliyah Governorate. Thousands of buyers, sellers, and onlookers attended the event yesterday, its popularity evident to motorists caught up in the numerous traffic jams in the shadows of the Sultan Saif Al Yarubi Fort. By 6 am, parking was unavailable within one kilometre in any direction, with both souq carparks full, the nearby wadi a sea of white pick-ups, parking in the commercial and many residential areas of greater Nizwa impossible, and the streets and roadways heavily congested with numerous traffic jams. The Nizwa markets are traditionally strong, continuing the former capital’s traditional pre-eminence for centuries, as the centre of commerce and overland trade. Vendors and sellers from hundreds of kilometres distant in all directions were selling, and buyers from as far away as Muscat, Suhar, and the Dhofar Governorate, also ensured a vigorous market. [gallery size='full' ids='563492,563491,563490,563489,563488,563486,563485'] Inside the souq, the livestock market was busy, noisy, and buoyant, with farmers and stockmen happy with the state of the market. An Izki-based veteran of many such markets explained, “It’s good! The weather has given us good growing conditions so, even if it has been hot, the rains have helped keep the stock happy, and there has been good feed available, maybe the best conditions for many years.” The cattle and goats on offer certainly appeared to be in prime condition, and as such appealed to a huge number of buyers. It’s evident too that vendors are taking more care over presentation today, with the livestock presented for ‘eye appeal’ as well. The recent rains in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate have also encouraged a flush of horticultural growth at just the right time, and every conceivable form of fruit and vegetable was on hand. Vendors again reported brisk sales, with Jabal Akhdhar figs the most popular, ahead of locally grown pomegranates and bananas. The date market is always popular at Nizwa, and so it proved again this year with basket after basket of a myriad of varieties offering something for everyone. The market doesn’t begin and end with livestock, fruit and vegetables however, with offerings, and market sections for stock feeds and hardware, rifles and khanjars, quails, other game birds and chickens, and fresh and dried fish alongside the necessities for Eid festivities such as bamboo kebab stakes, garlic, lemons, and even natural salt. The Nizwa Market has become a ‘bucket list’ event for many expatriates and tourists as its unique format and the pleasant nature of interaction with locals have grown in recent years. However for many Omanis in the capital and the wider Sultanate it has also proven something of a ‘magnet.’ The Habta Market in Nizwa is one tradition that appears to get bigger and better every year. PHOTOS BY YELENA PETERSEN