Jordanian Crafts and Hospitality at Best and other Madaba, Jordan Shopping Tips

Name of Shop: Sawalha Oriental Folklore

This place looked similar to many other souvenirs shops scattered around the St. George Church. What made it stand out was the exceptional hospitality and calm-radiant personality of its owner, Yussef Sawalha. And if you didn’t enter, you would never know what you have missed.

I entered there to buy a Shemagh scarf for my dad. And instead of giving me a standard “5JD” answer (which is an average charge for such a scarf for anyone who looks like a tourist), he asked me what kind of quality do I need, and showed me all options he had – from the cheapest for 2JD to the finest quality for 6JD. I chose one in the middle range. I wanted to try the scarf on (which I thought would be fun for the sake of picture), but he instead offered me to try a beautiful embroidered Bedouin women dress saying: “I want this to be one of your fondest memories of Jordan.” He gave me a beautiful black linen dress with red and green embroidery (to match my eyes) and helped me with a three-layer face niqab (a tricky, and time-consuming effort). And for couple minutes I could experience how it feels (dress-wise) to be a very religious Arabic woman: it is hot and you can’t see much. But it was really a very special experience.

Then, in a while, after browsing though other shops looking for a carpet, I came back to look at his carpets. And again, he asked me: what quality of carpets I want: made in Madaba (which looked rough, Bedouin style) or ones made in Egypt (finer wool, softer look). His prices were two-folds less than for the same staff in the Carpet City (a shop around a corner). and when I asked him why, he answered: “when I started my business, I simply decided to be fair.”

When I was leaving the shop, he gave me a little ceramic coaster as a present, which fell off and broke (for good luck :) when my friends were taking a look on the carpet I have bought. Well, he crossed the street and gave me another one. This indeed turned to be one of the fondest memories from my trip to Jordan, which I will remember and treasure about this particular day in Madaba. I have just one regret: I wish I have bought that dress ;)

What To Buy: embroidered dresses; scarfs; carpets; cushion covers; ceramics

What To Pay: the price will depend on what you buy; but be assured - you will get the fairest price

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Theme: Local Craft
Address: Hussein bin Ali Street
Directions: on the right hand at the beginning of Hussein bin Ali Street, not far from St. George Church

Name of Shop: Carpet City

there are several rugs shops in Madaba. besides almost every regular souvenir shop will carry a small selection of locally (Bedouin) or made in Egypt carpets.

the rugs are beautiful. the locally woven ones, made usually by the Bedouin women are woven on a horizontal ground loom and dyed with the home made dyes. These tend to be simple in design, narrow, or made in strips, which are held together horizontally. the locally made carpets are pretty cheap. the smallest one (size of a double door mat) will start from 15 JD and up.

made in Egypt carpets, which are based on traditional Jordanian designs, are much more expensive and start from 50 JD.

merchants very often showcase their carpets on the side of the street, which helps not only to attract the customers, also enhances the natural colors used in rugs.



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Theme: Local Craft