The Souks

Last weekend we went to the Souks. This is a very interesting place to visit as the local life come here to shop but it is also tourist friendly.  They have designed a huge building to look and feel like a market would have in the older days. There are tons of winding little alleyways which have small shops where you can buy any and everything. There are also lots of restaurants and sometimes concerts or events. It is a very busy and exciting place to go in town for a taste of authentic life as well as a look at the many cultures that are a part of this city.

The shops are so tiny with merchandise packed from floor to ceiling.  Another interesting part of shopping here is that you can try to get a bargain and barter the price down. It is tacky to pay sticker price as they expect you to ask for less. The owners will stand right on top of you as you look; I think that is because they are watching me but also because it is so small inside. I find bartering to be pretty intimidating and so I just wanted to go buy something, at least until I see how bartering is handled. I went in one little shop and was just looking around. As I looked at a small, wooden camel,  the shop owner came up right beside me, like right beside me. I looked at the sticker, 50 Riyals, so I put it back down. The shop owner picks up the camel and says "Madam, this is a hand carved camel from wood, I give to you for 40 Riyals." I was like...um, ok...and I put the camel back down and looked some more. He said, "Madam, I give you camel for 35 Riyals". This time I was really looking at the camel thinking wow...this is getting better and better and I didn't have to say a word! Before I knew it the camel was 30 Riyals and I was shopping for more items. The more I looked the cheaper things became! I was loving it. So as you might have guessed I ended up with the camel and several other things. I even looked more official when I had to go back outside and ask my husband for more cash. (These stores are even too small for strollers most of the time, especially strollers containing a two year old with very sticky little fingers.)

The evening we shopped the place was packed with people! I was trying to take pictures without offending anyone. I think I have enough for you to get a good idea of what it is like. Anyone coming to visit us will definitely get a chance to shop here! Hint, hint...come visit us!



There was an entire section of the souks devoted to animals. It was a little strange to see baby chickens with their feathers the color of Easter eggs. People were purchasing animals. It was a very populated area of the souks with lots of children becoming pet owners quickly.




There were a lot of rabbits. In fact, a salesman picked one rabbit up by the ears to hand to my daughter. Fortunately, she declined the invitation and I quickly followed with a no.




There were many different kinds of birds for sale here. Cages just full of them, especially pigeons. I have heard that falconry is big here but we didn't find any of those in the souks. My husband is quite disappointed.




Kittens and baby hamsters. There were puppies too. At this point I was getting a little heartsick for all the caged animals for sale and didn't take pictures of the puppies. They only had long haired cats for sale. That must be more valued here than short haired as all the many strays are short haired cats.



Baby Turtles

The shops had pedestals out where you could pet and handle the animals. This was a combo with bunnies and a bird!

I should have asked how much this guy costs.

Musical instruments.

These were Hookahs for sale. Many of the native people would lounge on couches at restaurants, smoking Hookahs and reading or looking at their cell phones. Anyone could use one at the restaurants, not just the natives.

Shoe Shop

Perfumes

Golden nicknack's and perfume bottles

A little bit of everything shop

Candy Shop

Bulk spices

Very extravagant baby cradles

Incense was burning all over the souks.

Toy Shop

This is a great example of the small shops for purchasing fabric. They are super tiny but absolutely filled to the top with fabric. Most of the shops will offer you books with swatches of the fabric they have put together. When you find what you like in the book the shop owner knows exactly where to find what you picked out. It is for sale by the meter and you can also bargain with these prices.

Throughout the souks there were elderly men that appeared to be working. They all had wheelbarrows which they were moving around, sitting in, or standing beside. I didn't see them moving much around but they appeared quite busy. They had little bells on the handles for people to move out of the way I am supposing. My husband and I weren't sure as to whether they are staged there to create atmosphere or really working for money. We hoped it was staged.

On one street corner several native women were selling homemade foods and craft type items. I am not sure if this is just a section for women to work as the rest of the shops were only men working.

The Chicken Shawarma

We had our first taste of the famous shawarma this week and it is delicious. It is a very light flour tortilla, with meat, lettuce, and some type of white sauce. I think there are different toppings you could choose, we went with basic since it was our first try. We also tried the bread dipped in freshly made hummus. I believe the meat on ours was chicken. It is a lot of meat stacked on a pole that is continuously roasting. I was skeptical of eating a shaving off the stack, but it was actually quite delicious, we will be back for more!

Flowers

Here are a few of pictures of the local flora. But don't be fooled by the palm trees and flowers, there isn't a lot of green anywhere, mostly sand, so the flowers seemed very picture worthy.

Around the City



Just outside the city I have mentioned how sparse life is and here is an example.



There is constantly new construction taking place all over the city.

My daughter's new friend.

The playground is an interesting place in our neighborhood. My daughter is a toddler and would like to make some friends so we go there frequently to burn energy and see who's out and about. Turns out our neighborhood is mostly French. All the little children running and playing on the playground are speaking French. My daughter doesn't really pick up on the whole foreign language concept and tries desperately to talk to them but they just stare back at her. They are all older than her and therefore taking the playground as their own. Up and down the slides, climbing on top of the equipment, they are everywhere and all over everything. The later in the evening we go out the more kids start coming out of the woodwork to play. (It is just too hot during the day). They have scooters and bicycles and you have to really pay attention so you don't get run over. A lot of them choose not to wear shoes, which really scares me. It is a nice play area with grass but you just never know what you could step on as it is still a public place. The children are all supervised by their nannies, which appear to all be some other ethnicity besides French or American or native to this country. They are friendly and smile and say hi. If I go out on the weekend we run into the parents which, of course, are all French. They don't really even look our way. It is strange to be on the playground in the middle east and be surrounded by no one that speaks English but not because they speak Arabic.

 

The title of this post is my daughter's new friend so I am sure you are wondering...french friend? Maybe a little girl with bows in her hair and a cute dress and shoes...no my daughter chooses the "playground" cat. Stray cats here are a problem, a big problem. It is sad. They are everywhere and there happens to be one cat that prefers the playground. It must not be a very bright cat as the kids are pretty rough on it and I would be surprised if it weren't already run over by a bicycle at least once. So here we are on a playground full of at least 20 children and my daughter goes up to the cat, waves, and says "hi, my name is (if you know us you know her name) and then looks at me and says...her name is mommy!"  It was so adorable. My daughter just waits for the cat to talk back...no response...I told you it wasn't the brightest of cats. My daughter walks back to me rather sad and says..."Mommy, I tried to talk to the cat but it doesn't want to talk". I thought, oh my goodness, I have to find a friend for her!

We came back to the playground the next day. My daughter began to offer twigs and leaves as treats, laying them down right in front of the cat. I guess it was some kind of friend offering. It is a stray but wasn't hungry enough to eat the twigs and leaves for a snack. Maybe tomorrow...

 

 



The "playground" cat doesn't look too bad for a stray. Some of the cats look much skinner and sickly than this one. Someone nearby probably feeds it.