_ 98 _ of the merchants, both native and foreign, eat ready-made food and do not prepare their food at home. There are many stalls selling sweet dishes and innumerable others selling fruit, and jewellery-shops selling trinkets which amazed me. One cannot go through these bazaars at any hour of the day without meeting many people. In the middle of these bazaars there is a large square covered with arches, as big as our customs-house, with five or six gates which have bars across them to prevent the entry of horses. Silks and merchandise of all kinds are sold here, important agreements, contracts and exchanges are made here, and there are many benches and small buildings around, where people sit and sell at all hours. The number of people here is immense, there are a great many craftsmen of all kinds. Some of them make one kind of tunic, others another. Some do quilting, others line Turkish-style cloaks and capes with furs of all kinds, both fox-furs and finer types, which come from Aleppo, Tabriz and Russia. Some make hoods, others velvet and silk hats, some lined with cotton or fur beneath the crown. Others make half-hose, which is what everyone wears, with shoes. Their footwear is shorter and wider than boots, and has leather heels secured with laces below the knee. Many craftsmen make copper objects with engravings done with
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