JPG

By Rob Case

28 May 2009

I've wanted to write a story for JPG Magazine for a long time but finding a subject and then finding the time to do justice to the writing never seemed to fit my schedule. Then JPG announced the "Markets" theme and I said to heck with my schedule – this one is one I'm GONNA make time for! Perhaps the floodgates opened because this is one topic I can support with more than a few favorite and eclectic photos taken at markets in some of the most mystical, malodorous and memorable markets in the world.

Almost as instantly as this theme was announced, I submitted a photo for the theme. That got me to look at the awesome market photos that were swelling the JPG on-line pages. WOW, so MANY beautiful, and colorful photos of products and their buyers and sellers all on display. It was obvious that ground was well covered so I decided to take this story on a tangent and tell the stories behind a few of the fascinating locations and the marvelous markets I've been fortunate to walk through around the world.

Our first stop is as old as antiquity itself – a Mystical Market in the land of Egypt.

One of the most historic of any of the markets in the world is the Khan el-Khalili, in Cairo Egypt. Once known as the Turkish Bazaar during the Ottoman period; it is now usually just called the "Khan." Named for the great Caravansary, (a large inn that enclosed a courtyard that accommodated caravans along the trade routes of the silk road) the market was built in 1382 by the Emir Djaharks el-Khalili in the heart of the Fatimid City of Cairo. It is believed this very market was involved in the spice monopoly, controlled by the ruling Mamluks of Egypt, which encouraged the Europeans to search for new routes to the East and led Columbus, indirectly, to discover the Americas.

Today, as it's been throughout its long history, the Khan el-Khalili is not strictly an Egyptian market, nor is it a market just for Tourists. With goods from all over the world piled high on tables, in shops and along its alleyways and side streets, one will find more Egyptian shoppers here than tourists, buying everything from American jeans, to Persian carpets to fine gold jewelry. These pictures of the Khan were taken in 2001 with my old and trusty Olympus OM-1 SLR shooting Kodak Gold 200 ASA 35mm print film. Back in those days I wasn't real confident about the quality of the film I could buy overseas so I'd buy as many rolls as I could carry and set out hoping I had enough to last the whole trip. When I finally had time to get to the Khan I had already shot a bit of film. Standing at the entrance to the ancient market everywhere I looked was a photo opportunity. The traditionally dressed father with his modern dressed son; the tables with brass and glass in multi sizes and countless colors; the rack of hot-n-sassy women's dresses: the boy on a mule-drawn cart stacked high with watermelon. There was more... much more but like a thirsty wanderer in the desert with a half-filled canteen, my limited film supply had to make it to my journey's end. As I look at the shots I'll include with this story I think back and lament on all the possible pictures lost.

Fast forward to the year 2003. It's time to pay a visit to the Market at Soumbedioune Beach, Dakar, Senegal.

Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is set on a peninsula that curls out into the Atlantic Ocean. It's the westernmost city on the continent of Africa.

At sunset, the most scenic spot on the peninsula is the fish market at Soumbedioune Beach. Here visitors can watch fishermen in their small, flat-bottomed boats called, pirogues, cut through the waves and slide up on the beach with their daily catch of swordfish, sole, tuna and grouper. The fish are taken and displayed right there on the sand while oysters, shrimp and sea urchins are taken and piled on platters arranged on small wooden tables lined up in somewhat orderly rows.

When I passed by the market, I had more than enough film to shoot, but three other things kept me from venturing into this target rich photo opportunity. The first was the odor of the fish mixed with the salty-sweet smell of the sea. It hit my nostrils with such force it was hard to talk my legs into walking in amid all the action. The second were shouts of warning from photo-lookouts at the road's edge. These keen eyed spotters taunted me because I wanted to take pictures and I didn't want to buy any of the fresh, but stinky fish. Here the saying "nothing's free" is true beyond all comprehension. The reasoning is that these people are here to make money. They do that by selling fish. They see me with my camera and think I'm here to make money selling my pictures of them selling their fresh but stinky fish. SO the question is, if I'm gonna make money off them, why shouldn't they make money off me? And that leads me to the final reason I only have a couple of photographs of this madcap market... I had plenty of film, but no spare cash to buy the opportunity to take pictures, and I would have had to pay everyone! What's more, I had an important appointment to get to, PLUS... I didn't want to come away smelling like smelly fish!

Just like any other market in Dakar, it is important to come to this one prepared. Know exactly what you're in the market for BEFORE you arrive because roving vendors will grab you and try to sell you everything from phone cards to batteries to tube socks and nail clippers...and oh yeah, fish. The few pictures I have from this market were taken with a new camera at the time, my Nikon F-100, shooting Fuji Provia 100 slide film. Fitted with an 80 to 200 zoom it was hard to remain incognito from those laser-eyed photo spies.

On we move again...

If you ever have the chance to visit the city of Blantyre in the small south central African country of Malawi you'd find it much like a small town in the US – Ali Baba's Pizzeria and the chain grocery store Shop Rite populate the city's one shopping mall. But in Malawi, Blantyre is unique and outside the other two "major cities," Lilongwe and Mzuzu, no other areas in the country are as commercially developed. Out in the country, most grocery shopping is done at roadside markets. Most food is cooked over open fires and the food item known as "pizza" is completely missing from the local diet.

When you stop at one of the roadside markets, no matter how big or small, the first thing you'll notice is that Malawians like things to be neat. Fruits and veggies, potatoes and tomatoes, charcoal and sticks are all stacked, packed or bundled to geometric perfection. And while the land can be dusty and devoid of color, the clothes and dresses people wear and the color of the all natural produce itself makes for a photographic experience like none other.

My Malawi market pictures were taken at the Bvumbwe Market in Malawi's Thyolo District. Bvumbwe is south east of Blantyre, on the way to Thyolo & Mulanje and the rolling hilled tea growing districts. Here at the Byumbwe Market you'll find potatoes, onions, beans and textile goods.

There are other markets in Malawi, further out from the cities and towns, informally standing on the roadside near small mud brick hut villages. Here you'll find fruits and veggies, no potatoes, onions, or beans. The clothes, however, remain colorfully constant making photographs as juicy as the fruits that are for sale.

So there it is, my journey through a few of the worlds most fascinating markets, at least to me. Thankfully, I'm now armed with a sweet digital camera that holds not one, but two compact flash cards. Lesson learned – the next time I'm in a photo rich environment I'm not going to miss one mystical, malodorous, & memorable moment!

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