It pays to linger longer in the Souq

The beauty and energy of Souq Waqif keeps me returning each week.....of course for the dancing, (see previous post!)..... but mainly because it has such an electric atmosphere - even during the week when there is no music.

The heat of the day lifts the aromas of coffee, spices and perfume and when the evening comes, the searing heat gives way to a soft warmth, mingling the aromas with the scent of the shisha.   People from every part of the globe come to eat, shop, chat, smoke and haggle of course!

I had my first experience of the haggle this week and what fun it turned out to be!  The shop keepers are friendly and not at all pushy - at least the ones I visited.  Now that I can speak a little Arabic, it helps.  I would go into a shop and say "as-salaamu alaykom" (Peace be with you) and would get "wa alaykom is salaam" in reply.  ......Yes I am conversing, this is great!!!!

 Generally speaking, they leave you to browse - the odd one or two would follow me around closely which I find a little irritating, but its all good natured, so its fine.  There is alot of tat in the shops, but some of it is actually really nice stuff and some of it is alot of fun too.  Anyway, I went in and out of a dozen shops, all selling pretty similar stuff and then I went into a really tiny shop, which again sold very similar stuff but this time, I lingered.

The shop keeper made me laugh by pulling the most apalling stuff off the shelves to show me - the worst being a turqouise and gold plastic Mosque alarm clock, which wakes you up with the Moazzim (call to prayer).  At this point I looked at him and said "that is awful, truly awful, in fact its horrible....... no Ill go even further, its nasty, really nasty!!!".  There was only one other customer in the shop - a Spanish guy, who then joined in and said "she's right, it really is terrible".... and we all fell about laughing!!

At this point, his colleague comes in from outside and he goes to fetch us all some tea.  So I sat for 30 minutes or so with the shop keeper and his Spanish customer, who it turned out was a Qatar Airways captain.  When I told him I worked for Al Jazeera, he said that he had been interviewed by them 21 years ago, during the first Gulf War (which actually would be a bit difficult as the Gulf War was 1991 and Al Jazeera wasnt born until 1996)...... perhaps he meant another Arabic Channel.  Anyway, he claimed to be the youngest pilot in the first Gulf War which is why he was interviewed.  

Not that anyone around here was particularly impressed, as you can imagine..... "why would he want to be involved with that?" was most people's reaction.  Of course we're so conditioned in the west to view these guys as heroes (has never been my personal view) without questioning the bigger picture....... anyway, that's something for another blog.... otherwise Ill be going all Ronnie Corbett on you!! (For anyone who doesnt know who that is, Im really sorry - youll have to look him up..... something to do with going off at tangents and taking a very long time to get to the punch line) !!


The punch line for me, was that after my tea, some delightful conversation, and choosing a few fun gifts to take home to my family, I charmed my way to an extremely good deal while making some new friends....... Doha and its amazing Souq truly are wonderful!!   It always pays to linger ;-)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating like a Bedouin

Image
As the end of Ramadan approached, with only 5 days to go until Eid, I decided to step up my fasting regime to see what it would feel like to echo the diet of the desert nomad, the Bedouin, who famously could survive for months on only dates and camels milk.    Sadly, unable to easily get hold of camels milk, I decided to swap it out for labeneh.... a thick strained yoghurt.  But of course, dates are available aplenty so no issue there. As is the custom during Ramadan, I'm fasting completely throughout daylight hours, having only 3 dates and a couple of table spoons of labeneh for Iftar  (the Muslim meal to break the fast) and the same before bed, accompanied only by water or black coffee and nothing else.  Muslims will usually eat their last meal, Suhoor, at dawn.... which is around 3am here in Qatar, but having experimented, I felt better having my final sustenance at around 10pm and sleeping through the night. I had already been fasting during Ramadan, so the daily fast w
Read more

My top 5 favourite things to do for free in Qatar

Image
1.  Wandering the lanes of Souq waqif My top recommendation for a visitor to Doha is a stroll through the lanes of Qatar's famous souq,  known as one of the best in the middle east. This renovation of the original, rebuilt on the same site, is actually only around 15 years old, although some of the buildings are original and you'd never spot the ones that aren't as its been done very very authentically.   It is the very place where Qatari bedouin would trade their animals, wool other goods and a place where they could buy their essentials.  It is the heart and soul of Doha and although the main street that runs through the souq is characterised by souvenir shops and shisha cafes, exploring the alleyways behind will uncover some real gems... oudh, perfumes, traditional Arabic clothing, pots and pans, scarves, bags, shoes, and oh the spice market, where you can buy every spice, pulse or nut and the best Yemeni honey on the planet! One of the best
Read more

Making a date with the local farmers of Qatar

Image
Being a small desert peninsula, Qatar doesn't have too many natural resources apart from the obvious oil and gas, especially with the pearl fishing industry long since disappeared.  But there is one thing that grows well here..... the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera to give its Latin name!!). In fact, dates have been cultivated here in Qatar since the bronze age and now there are over 1300 registered date farms in the country, producing more than 31,000 tonnes annually..... most of which are consumed by the local population with only a small proportion being exported. Last week saw the start of the Local Dates Festival, in Souq Waqif, Doha.   18 local farmers have been invited to bring their crops for sale including fresh dates, some dried dates and even saplings for those who want to try their hand at growing their own! The government is keen to showcase this locally grown super food and encourage visitors to the festival to taste, buy and learn more about the prope
Read more