Friday Night at Souk Waqif

The shopping malls are like nothing I have ever seen before for opulence and elegance. They are truly a reflection of the wealth of this country. Villagio Mall has a Venice theme complete with canal and gondola rides. The high domed ceiling is painted a sky blue overlaid with wispy white clouds. The entrance to City Centre Mall is complete with sweeping marble staircase, gold decorated pillars, majestic palm trees and fountain. Both malls contain a skating rink and amusement park,and retail stores from around the world.

The souks,as well, boast merchandise from around the world and throw in a taste of local culture (and color) to boot. Souk is the Arabic word for market, the olden day Bazaar used by the Bedouins to buy and sell goods. The Old Souq, or Souq Waqif, maintains the bustling atmosphere of the traditional market place.

Our first trip to the Old Souk was on a Saturday morning, in the heat of the day.The souks close at noon and open again after 4 pm when the sun's rays are lower, and the heat less intense. Poking around in narrow alley ways crowded with people we inspected shops full of cooking ware, spices, candies, perfumes, abayas elaborately decorated with sequins of gold and silver or colorful embroidery. We passed tailor shops and paused to watch the clothing being constructed. Several shops offered beautiful rugs of all shapes and sizes.

The souks, like much of public life in Arabic culture, are very much a men's area. Men run most of the shops,serve the customers, and haggle on prices. Women shoppers, if not in traditional Arab dress, are advised to wear covering of legs, arms and decolletage, or subject themselves to the outright stares of men. Having said that, I watched a diminutive Arab woman in black covering from head to toe, barter and haggle the best price with a shop keeper, then assertively direct a wheel barrow driver as he transported her purchases. Women know how function in a man's world.

The shop keepers expect that customers will bargain for lower prices. In fact, they admire a shopper who can wheel and deal. Almost as popular as "football" (soccer), haggling is a sport in itself. But there are deals to be had for those strong enough to stay the course. I am much too mild mannered, a typically nice Canadian, and pretty much fail in the bargaining department.

The Old Souq is transformed when the sun goes down. In the soft,mellow light of early evening in takes on an exotic air, an atmosphere of old Araby. The market becomes the meeting place. Arabs languish in outdoor cafes, smoking shisha,and drinking coffee. Groups of young men in thobes, and young women in abayas walk the avenues. Never the twain shall meet in theory. Young parents push strollers or take small children by the hand. Some buying and selling takes place I'm sure, but the evening is for food and socializing. If you are very lucky, you may even happen on a concert of Arabic music--violins, guitars, drums, clapping, vocalizing.

The malls and the souks--representative of the tug of war within this country. The push to modernize, to build, to bring in the best that the West has to offer struggles with the values of a bedouin culture stuck securely in the past. Desert people understand first hand the strength of nature, and the control it has on their destiny. Oil wealth is a very new phenomenon in this little arid strip of land. The changes that it is bringing have no grounding in the past and,like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, could bring the house a tumbling down.