Friday Market

Larissa booked a hotel for the night in Nizwa so we could go get up early for the market and snap away for blipfoto.

Literally thousands of Omanis descend near Nizwa fort to buy and sell animals, usually for consumption. With Eid (the three day celebration marking the end of Ramadan; remember your RE classes?) coming up soon, much of the trading was for goats, which are sacrificed during Eid as part of the traditional celebrations. Also on show/sale were cows, camels and sheep.

The main event is at the centre of the market where men stand in a large circle whilst the animals are paraded around the middle. Cue much haggling and bartering for the choice animals.

It was so busy that nobody seemed to mind us taking photos, and probably just made the assumption that we were tourists anyway. After much deliberation, comparison and deletion, I opted for this one. It doesn't really show the hustle and bustle, or indeed scale of the market, but captures most of the other elements.

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Thanks to everyone who commented on my 100th blip a few days ago, the response was great. I've back blipped a couple of shots over the weekend (I still can't access the internet unless at work) so please take a look!
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