SARKEL FAKHARI

Mahabad – The autumn exhibition began in the city of Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan, amid music and display windows filled with colors, but high prices and economic problems cast their shadows over it, stripping it of the shopping enthusiasm that distinguished previous years.

The sounds of cheerful songs fill the place, but there, in a familiar corner of the city that in the past was so crowded that not even a needle could be placed, only a few shoppers and visitors can be seen at the autumn exhibition.

This exhibition includes a diverse range of goods, from clothes, bags, shoes, and stationery, to flowers, plants, foodstuffs, and traditional foods. There are also stalls displaying handicrafts and souvenirs from various Iranian cities, which added different colors and atmospheres to the exhibition space and attracted the attention of visitors.

Colors and various goods shine while markets and seasonal exhibitions have become, for several years, emptier in parallel with people's pockets being empty of money. This year too, due to the large number of stalls and the high cost of renting them, business owners have become anxious and afraid of not being able to achieve enough sales.

Women constitute a notable proportion of the sellers, and the situation of those working only as sellers appears slightly better than that of women who own their own businesses. Female sellers are more widespread in handicraft stalls, such as clothes, jewelry, candles, statues, as well as handmade food products, such as pomegranate paste and juice, olives, and "torshak" (a dried sour Iranian fruit candy), among others.

"People Come Only to Watch"

Delnia K., one of the sellers participating in one of these stalls, says: "The rent for the smallest stalls reached 20 million tomans. Except for food stalls, most stall owners barely managed to collect the rent value. People mostly come only to watch, ask about prices, and then leave. As for women, they usually rent stalls together, or get a small part of the large stalls."

In another corner, several women rented a small stall together, and they still look at this exhibition as a glimmer of hope. Salam N. says: "We produce handicrafts, and we have a limited number of customers who know us, because we do not have a fixed place. Every year, through these exhibitions, we get to know more customers, and we receive orders during the year."

About the situation of handicrafts, she adds: "Previously, buying a candle, a bracelet, or a handmade bag was easier for people. But now, even buying a small piece like this has become difficult for them."

From the visitors' point of view as well, these exhibitions still have appeal. Although the clothing, shoe, and stationery stalls appear quieter than others, handmade products and traditional foods push visitors slightly more to stop and reflect in front of the stalls.

"Buying Has Become Impossible"

Halima J., one of the exhibition's visitors, says: "Every year we see new things here that we do not find much of in our city. Prices are high, and buying has become impossible as it was before. Nevertheless, tasting some new flavors is not without pleasure."

Amid the colors and smells of traditional foods, handicrafts, and others, the autumn exhibition presents a picture of the market's reality these days: windows full of goods, and people who are mostly content with watching.

Despite all the difficulties, the autumn exhibition remains for some stall owners, especially women, more than just a seasonal market; it is an opportunity to find new customers, and perhaps to preserve a business whose continuation has become more difficult day after day under difficult economic conditions.

These stalls continue until the second of next October, in "Mellat" Park in Mahabad city, within the flower and music exhibition.