Souq Waqif is centered in the heart of Doha, the state of Qatar. It lies between Al Asmakh street and Al Ahmad Street in the heart of old Doha.
Souq Waqif is a cultural marketplace rich with heritage and one of the most authentic, architectural, and atmospheric places to explore in Qatar. The maze of jewelry, clothing, perfumes, spices, combined with arts including traditional music, handicrafts, souvenirs, and paintings offer a clear insight of the Middle Eastern culture. The beige and light brown colors of the walls of Souq Waqif give the vibes of the desert and the Arab culture. |
Souq Waqif attracts its residents and Qatari where they feel a deep connection with the Arab Culture of the Middle East. Souq Waqif is mostly the first destination of tourists when coming to Qatar. It attracts the painters that can reflect the Arab portraits and paintings to study insightfully and relate them to the Arab history and Islamic studies. It resembles the Middle Eastern culture with the pottery that played a crucial role as a decoration in the houses and as a storage for water. Also, interested people in the Arab fashion can find various sizes and colors of Abayas and Thawbs, bright accessories mostly having the evil eye. Sundry antiques of various historical ages attract mostly tourists and antique collectors bought for a cheap price compared to its average price. Moreover, bird Market with its the living peeps of birds and Emiri Souq with the purity and spiritual enlightenment of the white horses with their hazel eyes attract animal lovers and costumers interested in buying a pet.
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Souq Waqif used to be a market for Bedouins to sell their livestock while standing. It was named after this action, where Souq means market and Waqif means standing. According to historians in Qatar, Souq Waqif existed before 250 years while selling spices, seafood, garments and wool. With this boom of prosperity, Souq Waqif drowned in a fire leading to be damaged in 2003. This tragic event started a restoration program in 2006 while maintaining the architectural, historical and cultural structures of Souq Waqif. This program was funded by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifah al Thani and his lovely wife Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. In 2006, Souq Waqif was re-built, where some buildings were refurbished and roofs were constructed by amalgamation of bamboo clay and straw to protect from heat if it was re-introduced.“¹”
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With the diversity of old building styles, the freshness of the air, the alignment and sense of special structures, with patches of olive trees, wide areas to play and exercise for children and adults, small cultural shops enriched with the Oud odor, the popular gold jewelry of the Middle East, well-tended animal parks Falcon Souq and Emiri Souq with pure white Arabian horses, colorful artworks reflecting the Arab culture, exotic Arab aromatic and spices, various charming dry potteries of different shapes, all with special light effects at night, the feeling of safety, creating various pleasurable moments, drown visitors in the Arab culture.
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It is believed in Middle Eastern culture, especially in the Levant countries that the evil eye protects us from the ill intentions from envious people. Evil eye works by reflecting the envy and bad luck back to the bad person. Souq Waqif with its beautiful cultural items, evil eye grabbed my attention. It brought me back to my mother's aunt's house that was painted with sea waves and layered with evil eyes. The evil eye in Souq Waqif reminded me of my childhood I spent in that house playing with my cousins and staring at the decorations there for hours. Evil eye in Souq Waqif does not only show the historical Arab beliefs, but also the shades of blue color that are a combination of sea and sky together which reflect my imagination into the calming sunset of Lebanon. Evil eye attached me to my Lebanese-Palestinian culture, wearing them always reminded me of my origin. Wearing this bracelet will always attach me to my family's obsession of protecting us from envy.
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The pottery standing on the Arab red fabric that try to explain to the viewer the reality and meaning of this shape behind it, other than just being dry clay. The meaning of pottery does not only rely on the combination of water and clay, but to adding the inner, spiritual and cultural emotions to the piece. The pottery connects the viewer to the inner spirit to clean the mind and calm the soul despite the complexity and variety of its shapes and sizes. This jogs my memory to my Grandmother's kitchen where I feel the Palestinian combined with the Lebanese culture in myself. The amalgamation of pottery and red fabric brings me back to my childhood where I used to potter with my elderly family members. It is really beautiful how the historical traditions in the Arab culture are still going until the present day. Pottery is still being used as storage of water to keep its warmth or coldness. Pottery is an artifact that has a unique meaning to the potter and the viewer. Pottery will always be a part of culture from the meanings it brings, like happiness, sadness and earth. Pottery is attached to the people who are connected spiritually to the pots.
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The abundance of Pumice Sponge Lava Stone got me back to the endearing smell of my mother after shower and her moisturized and silk skin. Despite the rough and porous texture of this stone, it will always leave the body flawless and exfoliated. This stone is the secret of the Arab women's moist and soft skin.
The smell of spices that combine the food among different Arab regions. The mixture of spices that resembles the taste of Arab rice, fish, chicken and meat. The smell of spices in Souq Waqif opens the nostrils and calms the head. The magical taste of Arab food resides on these earthy spices. Spices will always be part of the Arabs' culture, as it is the secret of their food. The smell of my mother's food flying around the house craving for food without being hungry. The connection I have for the Arab smells from foods and after baths is unbreakable. An Arab is taught and used to these pleasant smells that is hard for other smells to take its place. |
The white peaceful horses in Souq Waqif recalled the beautiful moments while riding a horse on the beach Lebanon with the same cool breeze that created the nostalgia I have for Lebanon's sea. Emiri Souq with its peaceful white horses that resembles the hero in Arab history. Most of the leaders and princes in the Arab history had a white horse while the soldiers had black or brown horses. It was to resemble the specialty and power that the leader had to distinguish him from others. Bird market with its musical sounds and colorful bright colors shows how much the Arab culture cares about birds and raising them as a pet. Birds always represented the spirit, and peace when it is white.
The care that the Arabs show when pets are kept without a cage to be in their place without running away. Falcons and birds symbolize the pride and courage of Arabs. They are treated with high manners. They are used in competitions, and hunting games. Until now, several Arab countries are famous for falconry. |
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As a person, being Palestinian-Lebanese attracted my attention towards the cultural variety of Souq Waqif, including its small shops selling different colors of garments and different shapes of pottery. Aside of it the Islamic art that was shown in the Islamic writing that all reminded me of myself, of my origin, and religion. Moreover, my family's interest in the Arab culture that was shown through using pottery, evil eye bracelets, Pumice Lava Sponge, spices, small mosque structures, and my father's Islamic art as decorations for our house. This shows how the Arab culture is still living among us.
The Arab history showed how they were attached to birds, horses, potteries, evil eye accessories, and spices. Despite passing hundreds of years, the Arab culture is still living between and inside us. The Arab culture was never abandoned. A person's place attachment can occur when the visitor to the new place feels the similarity it has to the old place, like similar culture and some features common to the place."³" identity.5 |
References
1) Souq Waqif: The story behind Qatar’s favourite heritage market. (2020, January 13). The Peninsula. Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/13/01/2020/Souq-Waqif-The-story-behind-Qatar%E2%80%99s-favourite-heritage-market
2) Cerda, M. (2020). Partulla de la policia montada Souq Waqif en Doha. photograph, Doha. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_rzFSFCww/
3) Gifford, R., & Scannell, L. (2014). The Psychology of Place Attachment. In R. Gifford, Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice (5th ed., pp. 278). Colville, Wash, Washington, USA: Optimal Books.
2) Cerda, M. (2020). Partulla de la policia montada Souq Waqif en Doha. photograph, Doha. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8_rzFSFCww/
3) Gifford, R., & Scannell, L. (2014). The Psychology of Place Attachment. In R. Gifford, Environmental Psychology: Principles and Practice (5th ed., pp. 278). Colville, Wash, Washington, USA: Optimal Books.