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 dessert and the Arab culture. To taste different Arab food, Souq Waqif is a house of various Arabic regions’ restaurants and a house of Shisha.
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Souq Waqif is centered in the heart of Doha, the state of Qatar. It lies between Al Asmakh street and Al Ahmad Street. Souq Waqif is surrounded by charming tourist destinations. With the calm beach near it, giving dimensions of spiritual relaxation and healing to its visitors leads them to have an amazing night with the corniche vibes without being there. Besides the cultural values Souq Waqif offers, The Islamic Museum of Arts fulfil an amazing Arabic night. Qatar has transportation facilities to be delivered to Souq Waqif in a cheap price like the metro through yellow line. Meanwhile, metro does not have 24/7 service, so Uber or Kareem can take its place.
Souq Waqif attracts the painters that can reflect the Arabic portraits and paintings to study insightfully and relate them to the Arabic history and Islamic studies, along with the pottery that played a crucial role as a decoration in the houses and as a storage for water in the Middle East that are still going until now. Also, interested people in the Arabic fashion can find various sizes and colors of Abayas and Thawbs, bright and charming 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. Souq Waqif is mostly the first destination of tourists when coming to Qatar. It also attracts its residents and Qatari where they feel a deep connection with the Arabic Culture of the Middle East.
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With the diversity of old building styles, the freshness of the air, the alignment and sense of special structures, the facility of accesses, 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 Arabic culture, exotic Arabic 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 Arabic culture.
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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.
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My attachment to Souq Waqif started from three important factors; person, place and process. As a person, being Palestinian-Lebanese attracted my attention towards the cultural variety of Souq Waqif, including its small shops selling dissimilar colors of garments and different shapes of pottery. Aside of it the Islamic art that was shown like the Islamic writing that all reminded me of myself, of my origin, and religion. My family interest in the Arabic culture that was shown through using pottery, koffiya, sand of Gaza, small mosques structure, bakhoor and my father's Islamic art as decorations for our house.
Souq Waqif with its physical eye-grabbing that fully represent the Arabic culture. The beige color of its buildings that represent the sand of most Arabic lands, the old history of Arab and the color they mostly used for their structures. The small shops of Souq Waqif that sell evil eye accessories that I wear most of the time and abayas that show the Arabic and Islamic clothes. The social gathering in Souq Waqif smoking shisha and eating Arabic food reflected my mind to old memories with my friends where we used to stay till midnight chatting about our lives and future. Souq Waqif reminded me of the small details in my house, my family's talents, gatherings with friends, my mother's abaya and my evil eye accessories. The behavior of my parents that depended on using cultural designs in our house to be reminded of our origin and culture and to turn it in a way of resistance that we still exist. Souq Waqif planted nostalgia to my home and friends. As an international student, I always go to Souq Waqif to be reminded that my parents are my back. |
Souq Waqif reminds me of the beauty that resides behind the Arabic culture. Starting from the evil eye decorations and accessories which reminded me of my mother's aunts' house that was painted with sea waves and layered with evil eyes. It is believed that in the Arab culture, especially in the Levant, evil eye protects us from envy and bad luck. 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 does not only protect us from ill intentions from envious people, but the shades of blue color that are a combination of sea and sky together which reflects my imagination into the charming sunset of Lebanon.
The pottery standing on the Arabic red fabric that try to explain to the viewer the reality and meaning of this shape behind it, other than just being fabric. The Arabic fabric connects the viewer to the inner spirit to clean the mind and calm the soul despite the complexity and variety of red circles and squares on it. This jogs my memory to my Grandmother's salon where I feel the Palestinian combined with the Lebanese culture in myself. I can also feel in blue area in my university Texas A&M University at Qatar where they have an Arabic sitting. The amalgamation of pottery and red fabric brings me back to my childhood where I used to potter with my elderly family members. 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 abundance of Pumice Sponge Lava Stone got me back to the endearing smell of my mother's 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 white peaceful horses in Souq Waqif recalled he 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. |
As mentioned above, Souq Waqif introduced me to my old memories of my childhood, but it also introduced me to the present.
The Oud, an old Arabic musical instrument, reminded me of dulcet and peaceful sounds coming from the curved fine hands. With caramel brown color of Oud and the soothing sounds met the soul and the heart. In my uncle's hands played the realms of culture that snipes the heart with its calmness reviving the soul.
Since 1948, we have been fighting for our freedom and right to have our stolen country back. It is beautiful how refugees are expressing their resistance through playing music, painting, pottery and poetry.
The Oud, an old Arabic musical instrument, reminded me of dulcet and peaceful sounds coming from the curved fine hands. With caramel brown color of Oud and the soothing sounds met the soul and the heart. In my uncle's hands played the realms of culture that snipes the heart with its calmness reviving the soul.
Since 1948, we have been fighting for our freedom and right to have our stolen country back. It is beautiful how refugees are expressing their resistance through playing music, painting, pottery and poetry.
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File Type: | mp4 |