Reminds me of the time when I was in Muscat about 15 years ago. I went to the exotic soukh (market) planning to buy a jambiya to take home. But I could feel the vendors beady eyes follow me everywhere and realized with a sinking heart that I was extremely unlikely to return home with a genuine original piece since there are so many reproductions around for the tourists. I ended up going home without one. Ironically, unless you have special trustworthy local contacts, I reckon it’s safer and cheaper to procure one from a Western auction house.
