Tag: doha

The Greatest Souk in the World?

M's Adventures

I often write about markets, perhaps because as a a child, my imagination was fired up by stories about exotic markets with fluttering fabrics and adventures down narrow alleyways. The result is that, in every city I visit, I visit the market. The great market of Cairo, Khan el-Khalili, is extremely touristy, but maybe I should have appreciated getting away from the traffic.

I think I prefer the one in Istanbul. When I lived in Colombia, one of my favorite places in Bogota was the Paloquemao market.

In Peru, I went regularly on field trips to explore the markets. One thing I recall is that they always had a bathroom. I went to a couple of “dicey” ones including the fabric market near Sodom, Gamarra. When I visited the fish market, it seemed like it would be something from a Tarantino film but the reality was more late night shopping channel.

Another surreal place was the market in Caracas. There was an abundance of food but no one could afford it.

When I moved to Bangladesh, I had no idea what the markets would be like.

Another market that I return to all the time is Torvehallerne in Copenhagen.

One Day in Qatar

M's Adventures

The blazing sandblasted sunlight of day in Doha dispels the mystery of the nighttime souk. The new Museum of Islamic Art on the crescent shaped harbor hovers like a pyramid or a citadel. The palatial ramp leads to palm trees and a fountain. Inside it is cool and quiet. The large atrium is the main theme with a spiral staircase hardly breaks the vast sense of space inside the museum. The multiple stories of the museum all open up inside to the cavernous central space. The museum is free although the special exhibits cost money. I had only a short time so I stuck to the permanent galleries. And the bathroom. The ladies prayer room and toilet is down one side of a rest area. This area harkened back to earlier Islamic design with a wall with fretwork cut out casting a dramatic pattern of dappled lights on the tables and chairs. Skyscraper high glass panes reveal a rising skyline emerging in the desert along the green waters of Doha… allowing you to emerge from the small dark galleries filled with 8th century glass incense jars the size of a thimble… to a looking glass of the world as Qatar is now… the skating rink and the yogurt marinated chicken kabob photos are from the mall… Doha’s largest…

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One Night in Qatar

M's Adventures

A re-built souk, wandering warren of alleys and streets crowded with shops selling textiles, pointed toe slippers, Sponge Bob backpacks, and every other glittering consumers’ unknown desire. It’s inexpensive here if you want to bother with frugality. Otherwise, it’s about as pricey as Las Vegas… ah, the shopping that could be done! Ah, the stories to weave thousand-fold while the smoke of water pipes hover like jinns in the night… all under a moon like a glinting panther eye… oh, world, show me another story… keep me up all night longing for your next delight!