SEBERANG PERAI, Nov 15 — Back in the Seventies, some traders decided to sell second-hand household items and clothes along Rope Walk, a narrow lane that snakes through the inner city of George Town.

Things like shoes, watches and even books were spread out on large pieces of cloth or mats placed on the road and sold at bargain prices.

Soon, this busy collection of stalls became a flea market boasting novelties and curios that included antiques, costume jewellery, electrical items and even furniture.

On weekends, the stalls spill out onto the sidewalks all around Taman Selat at the Rope Walk bazaar area.

Before long the name "Rope Walk" became synonymous with flea market in Penang. The Rope Walk flea market was also often referred to as a "thieves’ market" due to the dubious origins of some of the items being sold there.

In 1992, the flea market was moved to Lorong Kulit but among the locals, Rope Walk continues to be used to refer to a flea market.

This was probably how a similar flea market — also called Rope Walk — started over in Butterworth.

If you take a trip to Butterworth, there are still many interesting spots and places in this old town that grew and thrived when the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was based there from the 1940s up till the 1970s.

Realising the potential this slow-paced town has, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) and Think City embarked on an urban regeneration programme here to turn Butterworth into an economic hub and to bring positive changes to places like Butterworth's very own Rope Walk.

Rope Walk at Taman Selat

Antiques are also available at the Rope Walk, open daily till 3pm.

Similar to the original Rope Walk on the island, Rope Walk at Taman Selat started out small with a few traders selling second-hand items and antiques back in the early 1990s.

The number of traders grew over the years and by 2003, there were over 200 stalls at Rope Walk.

The traders later formed the Pasar Aneka Taman Selat Traders Association and requested MPSP to build a proper structure for them.

There are many costume jewellery stalls like this one at Rope Walk.

MPSP approved their application and built roofs for the flea market that stretches along the narrow lanes behind the shoplots at Taman Selat.

So, unlike the Lorong Kulit flea market on the island which is open air, Rope Walk Taman Selat became an indoor flea market which enabled traders to extend their operating hours till late afternoon.

Today, the flea market does not only have stalls selling second-hand items and antiques but myriad stalls selling new clothes, handphone accessories, perfume, silver jewellery, traditional medicines and dried foodstuff including pre-packed lekor to jeruk.

Though the flea market is open daily, the weekends and public holidays are the best time to visit as more stalls are open.

ue to smaller crowds on weekdays, some stalls are closed on Thursdays and Fridays.

Used toys and other household items are sold at Rope Walk.

On weekends and public holidays, all 200 stalls are open with about 40 makeshift stalls spilling out onto the pavements outside.

The brass seller

Perhaps one of the more unique stalls in the flea market has to be Mamu & Sons antique stall.

Mohd Kassim Mohd Hanifa, who is affectionately known as Mamu Kassim by all his clients and fellow traders, is probably one of the first few traders to set up a makeshift stall at Rope Walk Taman Selat back in the 1990s.

The antique collector has been collecting all sorts of brass items and antiques for over 40 years; it began when he worked in a relative's antique shop in his younger days..

"Working in the antique shop started my interest in antiques and over the years, I collect whatever antiques and interesting brass items that I find," he said.

In fact, there is a story behind his huge collection of brass items.

The antique and brass stall owned by Mohd Kassim Mohd Hanifa, who is known as Mamu Kassim to his customers.

Kassim's father was a goldsmith and made jewellery so naturally he has a fascination for gold.

"But gold is too expensive, I can't afford to go into the gold business but if you look, brass is almost like gold… just as golden and shiny when polished, so I decided to go into brass," he said.

Due to poor health, Kassim took early retirement from his job at Malayawata Steel and started selling antiques and brass items full time.

Today, the 69-year-old has hundreds, if not thousands, of brass items he collected over the years and has no plans to stop collecting anytime soon.

"Every day, on weekdays, I go everywhere to buy antiques and brass items from people, from shops that are closing down, recycle shops and from many other places," he said.

On weekends, Kassim can be seen manning his stall with his sons.

The "wooden stone” ringmaker

It started with a fascination for wood and how versatile it can be especially with its different colours and grain patterns.

So, Ghazali Abdul Hamid decided to experiment with what he could make using a solid wood core.

"I tried to carve and polish it to make it as the stone for rings instead of using precious stones," he said.

Ghazali Abdul Hamid fashions ‘stones’ from wood core to be mounted on rings.

That was back in 1974. Ghazali found wood such as kemuning (or black wood) and practised cutting the wood core, polishing it and turning it into small shiny ovals, perfect for mounting onto rings.

"I wanted to make something different, so instead of using the normal precious stones… I make wooden ‘stones’ that have unique patterns and colours," he said.

There are countless costume jewellery and ring stalls within the flea market but Ghazali's stall is different as his not only has the usual rings with precious stones, he also has a choice of wood core rings.

Rope Walk is a treasure trove of clothes, household items and accessories such as these belts.

His stall also displays some of the pieces of wood he used to fashion the wood core rings.

"All these ‘wood core stones’ are polished until shiny, I don't use any shellac to make them shiny," he added.

At his stall, customers need only pick the stones and ring frame they want and he would mount it for them.

The book (and magazines) seller

Old magazines, children's books and relatively new books of fiction are stacked and spread out on three tables near one of the entrances to the flea market.

This is one of the few book stalls at the flea market and all the books and magazines are second-hand.

Stall owner Shah Mohd Said loves books and believes that reading is a good habit to cultivate.

Shah Mohd Said sells second-hand books at reasonable prices at his stall.

"I'm selling books at cheaper rates than a bookstore so that people can afford to buy more books to read," he said.

Shah goes around to bookstores and recycle shops to buy up unwanted books and magazines for his stall.

"If a bookshop is closing down, I will go and buy up all their stock so some of my books are new from the bookstores but I sell it at more than half the price," he said.

The books at his stall are mostly in English because English books are more in demand.

"A lot of Malays like to read English novels so my English books sell better than Malay books," he said.

His books are priced from RM1 and above, with some new bestsellers sold from RM10 and above each.

There are many other stalls to explore here. It is a flea market worth visiting on a leisurely weekend and you will most certainly find something unique to bring home.

Rope Walk, Pasar Aneka Taman Selat, Butterworth Opens daily: 11am to 3pm Tel: 604-323 3788 Email: ropewalkbagan@yahoo.com

* Think City is a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad currently undertaking urban regeneration programmes in George Town, Butterworth, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Baru.