[Emanuel]

Hello folks,

I had the chance to visit Istanbul for a a few days two weeks ago and on a walk through the Grand Bazaar I noticed a store with many metal nick-knacks. In a dusty bucket were dozens of folding Afghan lohars with a posted price of 150 TL IIRC. They seemed identical to what we've seen here on the forum for many years but I was struck by the quantity on sale. It made me wonder once again at the purpose of these pieces, whether they were ever used for any practical purpose or intended for "export".

Any thoughts on this? I searched the bazaar for any good old stuff but all I could find were toy reproductions and 1 or 2 yataghans in poor condition used as decoration and not for sale.

Emanuel