Souk

Living in the Middle East offers one of my favorite places to shop…the SOUK. A souk is the Middle East equivalent to Wal-Mart in terms of the variety of goods they sell, except they date back to before Christ. You have the plastic department, but it is a whole street full of vendors selling plastic. The toy department is a different street and fabrics usually take up a couple streets. In most of the older large cities the souk is usually in the old part of town. Part of the attraction is that the souk is a labyrinth of streets and passageways. There are maps in travel books, but we found the best way to experience a souk is to just explore. If you’ve ever seen movies set in Egypt, you know you’ve seen a souk… Think about Indiana Jones, running in narrow alleyways to outrun his attackers, faced with the numerous merchant stalls, selling their baskets, pots, spices…

What exactly does this SOUK word mean? According to Wikipedia, a souq (Arabic: سوق,) is a commercial quarter in an Arab or Berber city. The term is often used to designate the market in any Arabized or Muslim city. It may also refer to the weekly market in some smaller towns where neutrality from tribal conflicts would be declared to permit the exchange of surplus goods.

What it means for me is a few hours of aimlessly roaming little streets, darting in and out of shops, feeling, touching, smelling, and visually absorbing the sights. I just love to go to the Souk and hopefully won’t tire of it. I guess it gives me an insight into the Arabian culture. The products sold range from rugs, abayas, spices, gold items, knick-knacks and what’s nots that you know you don’t want or need but that you will end up buying regardless. As much as the idea of roaming in the souk is appealing, what’s even more thrilling is the bargaining that needs to take place before a purchase is made. We were told to cut the price in half and start bargaining from there to meet the merchant halfway... So what can at first cost 200 Riyals may end up in the 120/150 range before it’s all set and done. Being “the first customer” can also have its importance. It is believed by many that the first customer of the day, if she leaves your shop without purchasing, is a bad luck sign...so it’s possible to get a much lower price if we are the first customer of the day. I’ve also been told that I was the first customer after prayer..but that may be carrying it a bit far. Anything to get a good deal! Superstition is one thing, abusing of it is too much!

Riyadh has several souks: the one I consider the “newer” is known as the “Kuwaiti souk”. It is located pretty close to our compound, a quick 15 minutes drive without traffic and we have found the “quick” way to get there! One must wander in and out of the many small shops and narrow alleyways. Everything is negotiable. The Kuwaiti souk contains a little bit of everything from household goods, carpets, furniture to abayas, thobes, shoes and dresses as well as gold and spices and food stuffs.

Street stalls that old ladies have are also interesting. The other night, we found the coolest looking Arabian traditional dresses. When we inquired about their price, the lady did not speak a word of English, nor did she understand what we asking her. Emma, with her burgeoning Arabic skills, another child and another merchant worked with us and we finally had the price. What she asked for the dresses was low and we did not have the heart to haggle over their prices.

My favorite Souk in town so far is the Deira Souk, located in the old city adjacent to the infamous “chop chop square” where public executions are still held on Fridays. Deira, like the Kuwaiti souk, is another traditional style souk that goes on and on with a multitude of shops and offerings. Deira is especially known for antique watches, daggers, traditional clothes, hand carved furniture and other items representative of the Kingdom. I’ve been there during the day and after evening prayer and I can say that the atmosphere is totally different! Both times have their advantage: during the daytime shopping as you can really see what you are looking at and it’s not crowded at all; at night the narrow streets are packed and the merchants are more prone to accept lower prices. The street vendors of nuts are always attracting customers and we’ve already made it a habit to get some salted almonds, fresh cashews and pistachios at the end of each of our souk visits.

The weekly Second Hand souk, held on Thursdays, is worth a look too. From the compound, it took almost 45 minutes without traffic, which in Riyadh means it was on the opposite side of town. Its name says it all: a plethora of second hand clothes, party dresses, handbags, and shoes. Also a good place to visit if you are looking for traditional Saudi dresses, like abaya, thobes, headdresses, winter coats… I got myself a party abaya, black silk on the outside, turquoise on the inside, all decorated with sequins and embroidery and I had to pay a whopping five riyals (less than US$ 2) Another five Riyals was spent on a cute party dress for Emma, with organza and silk. Now, of course, this price was achieved after haggling! All the merchants need to hike their price is to see my eyes and hair…and they think it’s OK for them to ask four times as much as they ask the locals! So, the abaya started at 30 Riayls, then I said 5, then he said 20, then I said NO and walked off, to what he said..OK, you take it! About the same happened with the dress!

Another visit is definitely needed to the second hand souk, as it sells gorgeous party dresses. Now, although women are covered from head to toe in black in the public eye, when they get together for a party or a wedding, those gatherings are segregated and all the coverings fall off, revealing the sexiest most intricate designer gowns you can imagine…No, I have not been to one of those YET, but this is what I’ve heard from expats who were lucky to attend a special event…. Anyways, once the party is over, what happens to the dresses? It’s not acceptable to wear them again so they end up in the second hand souk where girls like me may end up buying one! I really was tempted, as I saw some cool designs, all sequined and flashy colors. Before I get one, I need to check with a cleaner and find out if it would be possible to get one cleaned… The intricacy of the dresses in my opinion makes them impossible to hand wash…hopefully they can be dry-cleaned!

The souks are not just limited at clothes and household items… The outskirts of Riyadh is home to one of the largest camel souks in the Middle East. Spread out over several acres there are camels in every color and size, hay and stalls as far as the eye can see. They are available for purchase as food, as assets or as pets. One Friday afternoon, the whole family loaded up the car and went look for the Camel Souk. It was hard to miss, being located right off a major highway and the camels were all visible! We walked around and it soon hit us: the SMELL…Let’s be honest: camels are not pretty smelling and when you put a whole bunch of them in a contained area, their proximity makes it nice for the shopping but hurtful for your nose buds! Camels often wear shiny harnesses and have elaborate seating equipment. Some merchant sells everything that is needed with the camels.

Outside of the Kingdom, I’ve also visited the Dubai Souk, situated in the old part of town. It’s easily accessible by taxi, but once there, it’s a must to take an Abra (a small wooden boat water taxi) to cross Dubai Creek to the spice souk. When Alex, Emma and I had a lay-over of 23 hours in Dubai before flying to Riyadh, we took time to go visit the souk and really enjoyed walking around and savoring the sights and sounds of the fish, fruit and vegetable market as well as the spice souk and doing some window shopping in the Gold souk.

So, on your next visit to Riyadh, we will go together and explore the Souks and you will tell me what you think!

Masalama!