guardless nimcha

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Perhaps some pics of the swords in the Muttrah Souk.......? If there are as many as you say, then I am sure that Members here would be interested to see.......

Salaams Khanjar1. See http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15083 where I started formatting the Muttrah souk content and where you will see almost identical swords from there... because that is where they arrive from Sanaa with the roughly made iron rehilts done in Sanaa...from Ethiopian blades having had their Rhino hilts removed usually to be put on Jambias ; originally European trade blades. Souk traders consign hundreds of blades at a time... sometimes thousands... and push out huge volumes to the mass tourist market mainly at Muttrah. This is done in a variety of configurations with Omani Long Hilts and others being subsequently fitted to extended tangs on any blade they want...in the workshop a short distance away. This has been done since 1970 when the veil was lifted on Oman as it rejoined the modern world. This rehilting became almost accidentally prolific taking on a momentum of its own and flooding thousands of swords out onto the worlds collections..Collectors know them simply by the Sooq name..as;

"Ah thats a Muttrah" such is their dominance as an invented breed over the past almost half a century!!

Sitting opposite the souk entrance there are often cruise ships containing 3 to 4 thousand tourists...and they pummel the souk with groups eager to buy. The projected runway reconfiguration at Seeb the main Muscat Airport is gearing up to take millions more tourists ...and the main souk is Muttrah.

I have a visit to Muttrah soon and will take my camera but you will find many examples on my work on Omani swords where they come into conflict with what are purely made up swords thrown together for the tourist market all over this Forum. Your sword/swords are Sanaa rehilts in the case of the rough worked hilts..though the blades are Ethiopian (European trade blades). These also often appear and tourists buy them in Muttrah. Since no one else buys them I tend to regard them as Tourist swords.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[ariel]

Ibrahiim,
Here are some of mine.
Scabbards are very old, the leather is torn and dry and the wooden inserts are thin, irregular, worn-out and dark, the blades are local, nothing European or Ethiopian, with local damages and patches of old patina.

Are they also new from Muttrah??

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[QUOTE=ariel]Ibrahiim,
.. Here are some of mine.
Scabbards are very old, the leather is torn and dry and the wooden inserts are thin, irregular, worn-out and dark, the blades are local, nothing European or Ethiopian, with local damages and patches of old patina.

Are they also new from Muttrah??[/QUOTE

Salaam Ariel.. Thank you for the pictures and an excellent question.. No these are not Muttrah.. taking these from the top I think the first is either Syrian or Othmali.
The second and third are Yemeni probably hilted in Sanaa.
The fourth is a Karabela. Othmali but possibly a Red Sea variant.

The almost impossible decision is hidden around the number two and three since swords rehilted in Sanaa similar to this were sold to tourists there.. but because of strife and war that market vanished.. and hilted and unhilted blades ... we're recycled to Salalah and Muttrah. All l can be pretty sure of is they (2 and 3) are Sanaa rehilts...

Regards,
lbrahiim al Balooshi.

[ariel]

What is Othmali?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by ariel

What is Othmali?

Salaams Ariel... That was my pathetic attempt at spelling Othmanli on my handheld; at 120 kph in a crosswind... Ottoman to the initiated...awfully sorry for the spelling mistake.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.