The 'New Old' Souq Waqif In Doha

In the 'good old days' before the huge air-conditioned malls brought international brands and western style shops to the region, the souq(s) was the center of life of any city. In Doha the main souq - Souq Waqif - is often referred to as the 'new old souq' because the Qatar government decided to knock down the old souq and rebuild it much as it used to look (but to last for many years to come).

We really enjoyed Souq Waqif - it did not feel like a Disneyland at all nor as a tourist attraction and we saw many locals come here to do some shopping or get some food. We went together at night and I went during the day alone as well and there was always something new to see.


(The outskirts of the souq - a popular hang-out place for the many pigeons)

The souq is very centrally located - close to the Fanar and right off the Doha corniche (and about 15 minutes' walk from our hotel):


(The outskirts of the souq with the Fanar (Qatar Islamic Cultural Center) in the background - a popular hang-out place for the many pigeons)

There is something like a main road running through the souq with shops and restaurants on each side:


(Main 'road' of the souq)

And then there are smaller narrow alleyways as well as an entire part of the souq that is completely covered (and too dark to take decent photos in):


(A smaller alleyway of the souq)

As with any decent souq there seems to be a bit of everything for sale. This little shop had some very colorful fabrics and woven items in the traditional Bedouin patterns and colors:


(Small outdoor shop selling products with traditional Bedouin style patterns and colors)


(A limited display of men's sandals in a side alley shop)

And of course there are plenty of shishas (or nargila or hubbly bubbly or water pipes or whatever you prefer to call them) - an inevitable part of the culture in the Middle East:


(Small stall selling shishas and belts (?))

We came across a shop inside the covered part of the souq bearing the name Danish Trading Co. We thought that was a bit odd and had already started wondering whether they were selling Danish dairy products (Danish design seemed a bit out of question given the location):


(From the Danish Trading Co. in Souq Waqif)

As we went inside it became clear that it had nothing to do with Denmark (we even asked the owner who spoke little English and he looked quite surprised at our suggestion that there would be a connection with the country Denmark) - so apparently it's just a name with no reference. I wonder if he had a lot of trouble during the recent years' crisis over the cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammed. The shop sells nuts and sweets:


(Nuts and sweets for sale at the Danish Trading Co. in Souq Waqif)

They were quite happy to let me take these pictures of the small store - they almost seemed proud, which was really nice.


(Nuts and sweets for sale at the Danish Trading Co. in Souq Waqif)

These small stores are on the outskirts of the souq - if you click to enlarge the picture you will see that all 3 store owners are sitting by the door reading:


(Small stores selling a bit of everything, outskirts of Souq Waqif)

There were lots of stores selling fabric and clothes, small tailors sewing dishdashas, kitchen supplies of all possible kinds and sizes and lots of little stores selling a bit of everything - I just didn't take any photos of that. In the evening, women would come with home-cooked dishes in insulating containers, sit on a little square on the backside of the souq and sell portions to passers-by. Most of them had no signs of any kind and a few had hand written pieces of paper mentioning today's dishes (in Arabic only). I haven't seen local women sell food in the souq anywhere else in the region. I'm sure it was delicious!

Another section of the souq houses falcons - another Arabian tradition. However, the place was closed when I was there with K and I did not dare go in alone as it seemed very much a man's world (groups of men sitting on sofas outside as well). I did see one afternoon, however, two of the men taking a falcon out for training in a little courtyard with a patch of green grass. They didn't mind me watching but I never asked if I could take a photo.

Here's a local man carrying home some shopping next to where the falcons are:


(Carrying home the goods, Souq Waqif, falcon section)


(Local men walking in the Souq Waqif, falcon section)


(Local men walking in the Souq Waqif, falcon section - and a man walking behind them carrying some items they have bought)

As can also be seen on the picture above, this part of the souq is nicely built with the traditional style ceiling - made of 'woven' leaves from the palm trees bringing shade and cool. I like the shapes they make:


(Section of Souq Waqif with a view to the traditional ceiling)


(Looking up to the ceiling, Souq Waqif, falcon section)


(Looking up to the ceiling, Souq Waqif, the Art Center section)

As I already mentioned the souq is not very touristy and also sells the needed nets, traps and other supplies for the local fishermen:


(Shop in Souq Waqif supplying the local fishermen)


(From the outskirts of the souq)


(A man clipping his toe nails in the souq)

There is also a part of the souq that is dedicated to animals. Although some of them were being taken very well care of, many of them were in a sad state (as is the case in most of this region as well as many other places in the world). The majority of the animals were birds - I suppose they are relatively easy to keep whether on a balcony or in a proper garden.


(Parrot outside a pet shop)


(Bird cages - with and without birds - for sale at Souq Waqif)

Without offending anyone I think it's fair to say that many people here have little respect for animal life and have not learned to appreciate or care for an animal. It seems that among some there is a tendency to buy a small rabbit or a chicken or another cute little animal if a child points at it - not with a deeper intention of taking proper care of the animal but just as you would buy a balloon (and expect it to 'die' after a few days) or a lolly pop that is another 5-minute pleasure.

To further help this demand, many sales men have resorted to painting the animals (something I have heard of in Kuwait as well but not seen myself) - you can almost hear the "Daddy, Daddy can I have the green chicken?!? And Mummy mummy I want the pink rabbit".

Speaking of pink rabbits - we walked up to one of the sales men that had these for sale. K asked him if rabbits are always pink in this region of the world. For a minute the sales man seemed unsure if we were really so stupid that we had not realized that the rabbit had been spray painted pink (which of course we knew) - and for a second I guess he really hoped that he would be able to sell us a rare Arabian pink rabbit at an exorbitant price. Our smiles gave us away and he said that he had painted it - and allowed us to take this photo:


(Pink - spray-painted - rabbit for sale in Souq Waqif)

And here are some of the spray painted chickens I mentioned:


(Colored chickens for sale at Souq Waqif)

I suppose you could argue that dressing up little chihuahua dogs - as the recent trend in the west seems to be - is no less cruel than spray painting animals...

It was in the same animal section of the souq that I got caught up in a combined sand storm and thunder storm one afternoon. In this picture you can almost see how the sky has turned sand colored and it's about to start raining with heavy thunder:


(Sand and thunder storm approaching rapidly, Souq Waqif)

Having spent so much time at the souq over the days, I made it through the covered alleyways to a juice bar almost without getting wet. I sat at the juice bar, had a fresh pomegranate juice and enjoyed listening to the rain (and seeing people run for cover):


(Watching the rain pour down - an unusual sight in this part of the world)

The souq hides many other interesting things - among other the Qatari Dama Association. I never knew checkers (dam) was being played here - inside plenty of local men were sitting at checkers tables deeply involved in their games:


(The Qatari Checkers Association deep inside the Souq Waqif)

Here's the local police station (inside the souq) with their 'police vehicle' out front. I already talked about how the Qatari dress very conservatively (How to spend a weekend in Firenze, Italy) - and quite interestingly, the white head scarf (ghutrah) with the black rings (aqal) that men in this region usually wear with their dishdashas is part of the police uniform in Qatar (in Kuwait for example the police uniform is western style clothing and no head gear).


(The local police station inside Souq Waqif)

In a small alley right next to the police station we heard clicking sounds one evening. The clicks were unmistakeably the sound of old typewriters. My mother had one when I was a child and although she didn't use it often, the sound has remained with me. In tiny shops with nothing more than a table, a chair, a typewriter and a typist, business seemed to be going very well. Some customers had come to have official documents typed (I suppose applications and other paper work to be handed to government offices) and one man was sitting next to the typist reading out a long hand-written letter that the typist then repeated and wrote on his typewriter line by line.

In other alleyways old local men were pushing wheelbarrows through the narrow alleyways filled with people constantly standing in their way. It is a common way in the Gulf region to earn some money by offering to drive around the goods that people have bought in the souq - often following them around for a long time before finally taking the goods to the customers' cars. The only difference is that in Kuwait this service is typically offered by Indian men (migrant workers) that were not lucky enough to land a job as taxi drivers. I have never seen old local men doing this job and I felt sorry for them - they were physically frail from what appeared to have been a long and hard life working and they should have been at home with their families being taken care of and shown the deep respect that elders normally enjoy in this region (not to say that I don't feel sorry for the Indians normally doing this job but at least they are still strong and not too old men).

I believe there is much to learn about a country by observing what is going on in its souqs and I enjoy being caught up in little time pockets.

Walking The Corniche In Doha

While K was busy at work, I decided to go sightseeing in Doha. Just like in Kuwait there is a nice corniche and it's possible to walk all the way along it - which I decided to try.


(I walked roughly from the dhow harbor (bottom arrow) along the corniche - with a few detours - to the Sheraton hotel (upper arrow))

From our hotel it was a short walk to the beginning of the corniche. On the way I passed this reminder of the Asian Games 2006 that Doha hosted (there are a few more in other colors spread throughout the city):


(From the 2006 Asian Games in Doha)

Of course one should never try and compare two countries but I tend to do it because I am trying to understand more of the Gulf region and how Kuwait fits into that picture - i.e. how it is similar and different to other countries in the Gulf. I already wrote about how the Qatari seem to dress more conservatively/traditionally (How To Spend A Week-end In Firenze, Italy (Mall-O-Mania Qatar Style) but another thing that I noticed was that it seems the population of Doha is more mixed than that of Kuwait in terms of nationalities represented. I saw a lot of African people (and later a Kenyan lady I know in Kuwait told me that there is indeed a large Kenyan community in Qatar) and what appeared to be a more mixed Arab population as well. I couldn't really find any comparable statistics to support this, so it's just an observation. Like in Kuwait, the Qatari are a minority in their own country (about 3/4 of the population is expatriate with temporary residence permit).


(A shop selling Sudanese requirements (whatever that includes))

Down by the corniche is the impressive Museum of Islamic Arts. I went to see it and it was absolutely amazing - so much so that I will do a separate post on it later.


(Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha corniche)

From the museum it is also clear how green Doha is in some places - I suppose the humid climate helps but they still must be using an enormous amount of water to keep it this green and beautiful (I realize that to many of you this looks like nothing extraordinary but once you live in a desert country you really come to appreciate seeing green grass):


(Green Doha - a small park/patch of green grass by the corniche)

Right next to the museum is a small harbor that serves as the hub for many of the local fishing boats:


(Local fishing boats, Doha corniche)

...And there was even some wildlife to be spotted:


(Birds - one looks like a type of heron? - in front of local fishing boats - and with a hazy Doha city skyline in the background)


(A heron (?), a sea gull and another little bird hanging out by the water, Doha corniche)


(Another tourist taking a photo of a roundabout close to the corniche - often the roundabouts are nicely decorated - in this case with clay pots and water coming out of some of them)

It seems that Qatar is trying to enforce the traffic regulations - I saw quite a few signs reminding drivers to take care of the pedestrians and people working roadside. This one is also quite nice:


(A lifted finger to remind of the traffic regulations, under a stop sign in Arabic)

From the corniche walk, this impressive building is very visible. It is the Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre - also known as Fanar:


(Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre, Doha)

It also looks really nice at night when it is all lit up:


(Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre by night)

Actually the big Souq Waqif is located in this area as well but I will write a separate post about the souq as I spent quite a lot of time there.

Another Doha landmark is the Pearl monument. Something the Gulf countries share is a pre-oil past of pearl diving (I wrote about this in a Dubai post as well - Soaking Up Culture In Dubai). While it is oil and gas that has paid for much of the modern developments, pearl diving was the main economic activity in many of the Gulf countries until it collapsed in the 1930s.


(The Pearl with local fishing boats and Doha city skyline in the background)


(Close-up of the Pearl)


(The Pearl about to eat the Qatar Islamic Cultural Centre - Pacman style)

Close by the corniche walk is the Diwan Amiri - the residence of the Emir of Qatar (on the right hand side covered as it is undergoing renovation) along with the Grand Mosque and a pink clock tower:


(Diwan Amiri, the impressive green mosque and a pink clock tower)

Further along the corniche, the skyline of Doha city becomes clearer. In this particular part of the corniche walk are large yellow letters forming some words including 'Realize' and 'Think'.

I particularly liked this one as it must really have taken a lot of effort and vision to realize this impressive skyline in what was a traditional desert country:


('Realize' in front of the Doha city skyline)

The 'Think' is in front of the Palm Tree Island. However, I am quite convinced that it is not actually a palm tree but a sidra/cedar tree - a tree important to Qatar and the region and the logo of the influential Qatar Foundation. Considering the Qatar Foundation's heavy involvement in education, I suppose it is a very fitting word to have 'think' in front of that island with the tree:


('Think' in front of Palm Tree Island)


(Getter closer to Doha city skyline)

At one point along the corniche walk there was a long wall with colorful mosaics depicting Qatar's development (there were many more mosaics but I chose just 4 sections to show here):


(From a Bedouin past of roaming the desert with camels...)


(...to trading and selling products...)


(...to diving for precious and at that time (before cultured pearls) expensive pearls...)


(...up until a modern Qatar with oil, gas and the pleasures of modern life and leisure activities set against the Doha skyline)

Qatar has the 4th largest gas reserve in the world and the largest GDP per capita.


(Birds promenading along the corniche)

I also spotted this nice bird - it looks like a blue heron of some kind:


(Blue heron (?), Doha corniche)


(Blue heron (?), ready for take-off)

Speaking of animals, this one - which is an oryx and is also the logo of the national carrier Qatar Airways - is, I believe, the mascot from the 2006 Asian Games. The Asian Games logo has been scratched off its shirt and the count-down display in the background is now used for advertising other sports events. At least they found a way to recycle it:


(Asian Games 2006 mascot with Doha city skyline in the background)


(Another yellow word - 'Achieve')

As I got closer to the skyline, I realized the blue bird had accompanied me (it's at the bottom of the picture):


(Doha city skyline and the blue heron(?))

I got another good shot of it...



...Before it flew off for good:



By then I had gotten into the Doha city centre:


(High rises in Doha city centre)


(Close-up of twisted high rise)

This one appears as nothing special from a distance:



...but as you get closer it becomes clear that it is actually an intricate mesh of Arabic patterns:




(Bird along the corniche)

As I touched upon, Qatar is heavily investing in the education of its population - through the Qatar foundation and other means. I did not go and see it but they have built an entire Education City that has become home to a number of prestigious American university branch campuses and other educational institutions.

Along the corniche there is the newly opened Knowledge Enrichment Centre - another testament to the value placed upon education and knowledge:


(The Knowledge Enrichment Centre - closed when I was there so on the to-do list for next visit)

Here is another thing I did not expect to see in this region. I don't know if anybody actually uses them but the idea is great (the display was all black so I'm not sure the machine is working). If it wasn't for the heat I would have loved to do a bike ride along the corniche:


(Bikes for hire along the end of the corniche)

The trip ended at the Sheraton park - next to the landmark Sheraton hotel (to the right outside of this picture). It was truly a wonderful little park with blossoming trees, lots of green grass, a nice little playground and of course wireless internet throughout the area:


(Beautiful tree with deep orange flowers in Sheraton park)


(Beautiful trees in Sheraton park, downtown Doha)

My trip ended here (I took a taxi back to my hotel) and although it was not much longer than 4 km (without the detours) it felt more like I had walked 25 km. The humidity in Qatar is quite intense and I am still learning how my body reacts to the high temperatures and how little physical effort I am able to make in this climate. It is quite strange as I can only walk about half a kilometer before I need to drink water and gain my breath - and after a trip like this (which is something I would usually do in an hour or two) I went straight back to the hotel and slept for an hour before I felt normal again. I am glad I experienced it though - if we will do more traveling this summer I know not to plan too much in a day.

On a last note, I thought about how the place we grow up shapes our perception of things and in particular how we get used to certain pictograms as generally valid and applicable. To me for example, the symbol for a pedestrian is quite simply a man (walking or standing - depending on whether it is related to a green or red light at a pedestrian crossing) looking something like this:


(What I perceive as a pedestrian pictogram)

I never really thought much about how in other cultures this would look different - here's the pictogram for a pedestrian in Qatar (where both men and women wear clothes that have this silhouette):



I will be posting some more about the Museum of Islamic Arts as well as the Souq Waqif and some of the yummy food we had, so stay tuned...