A Mall of Sulaymaniyah .. A hundred years of the life of the simple

Farah Salem - Sulaymaniyah

You will not find it difficult to get to the Molloy Mall in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, but you have to surrender to its ramifications for the next destination, and the faces, smiles and hospitality of the sellers will help you.

The market is characterized by different shops with similar displays in the order and cleanliness, and bright colors of goods that vary between the shops of the gang offers meat in a stylish and tempting, to the shops of mobile phones and electronic devices.

Souk Mallawi is one of the most popular places in the city, and is packed with shoppers according to Tawfiq Al Jaf, a resident of Sulaymaniyah who owns a small carriages to sell the cooked "shalegh". He enjoys talking about his memories of this place and the years he spent in his career. A former member of the Peshmerga before being injured in the battles against the organization of the Islamic state.

"The market is unique to the people of the city and to the Arabs who have visited the region. You can find cheap hotels and goods that are suitable for family members at prices that suit the needs of people with low incomes and the middle class.

He pointed out that the economic situation in the city in general and the market of Mallawi, especially linked to visitors to the city, and this is what happened during the years of displacement and economic prosperity that accompanied the reception of Sulaymaniyah thousands of displaced from Iraqi provinces.

During the course of the market, you will be attracted to the shops' facades and the expansive terraces of the different types of vegetables and fruits, arranged in a comfortable way for the eye to seduce the passersby in the way they are presented for purchase.

The Knight
As you progress in the path you will find that there is no limit to this market, but you will discover that the hidden from what you attract to discover more and the question of secrets, like a knight amid a large garden looks care, surrounded by a fence of iron separates the monument and its quiet gardens and isolates them from the bustling market scene that thrills life From morning until midnight.

This monument, according to Ismail Khayat, an employee of the Department of Archeology, belongs to Ibrahim Pasha, the founder of the city of Sulaymaniyah.

Khayat explains that the monument is in the middle of the courtyard of the former government building, which occupies a large area in the center of the Mallowi, and it is certain that the location of the Serail geographically has increased the importance of the market and its economic role in the city over the years.

Who is Molloy?
The name of the market is attributed to the well-known poet Mawlawi, Abdul Rahim bin al-Mulla Said, who was born in 1806 in the mountainous village of Soh Rashata, within the administrative boundaries of Halabja in the province of Sulaymaniyah.

He traveled to various cities until he settled in Sulaymaniyah and its center, specifically its great mosque, and then moved to Grostana, where he worked as a teacher.

His nickname "Mawlawi" was probably obtained from his wife Anbar Khatun, an Afghan woman of origin, and this was a title that her followers would call Sadat, the elders and the mystics.

Tales of the Mallow market - which exceed in its 100th year - are stories of the city and people, stories in which the streets of different events, you will find it present in the faces of vendors, among the shops of fabrics and shops of handicrafts, shops of carpets and antiques, clothes and electrical appliances.

"It is the life of this city and its beating heart," according to Tawfiq al-Jaf, or as his non-Kurdish friends call him "Abu Nashwa", the name of his eldest daughter, who launched it with the people of al-Nashwa district in the southern province of Basra, Where his military service, a landmark in his life as he described, may be similar to the impact of the imprint of the Mallowi on life in the city of Sulaymaniyah.