The Souk: Shopping Middle Eastern Style

October 2002

Well, we finally returned from Syria. What a wonderful place! The people were friendly. The land was beautiful and best of all the tourist sites were almost empty. Imagine being the only three people in an old crusader castle. One castle, called Qualat Salah Al-Din (Saladin’s Castle) was set in the mountains surrounded by pine trees. On one side was a steep drop that ended in a creek with clear water. The bed of the creek was a white colored rock that gave the water a crystal green appearance. The day was rainy with fog and low clouds. It was quite breathtaking and in my mind I could see men in armor trying to storm the ramparts. This was history. There were several other castles we visited, but this one was my favorite. The only thing that could compare were the souks.
A souk (pronounced soook) is the Middle East equivalent to Wal-Mart, except they date back to before Christ. You have the plastic department, but it is a whole street full of vendors selling plastic. The toy department is a different street and fabrics usually take up a couple streets. In Kuwait the fabric market was a five story building with an annex. A seamstress’s paradise of exotic fabrics! In most of the older large cities the souk is usually in the old part of town. Part of the attraction is that the souk is a labyrinth of streets and passageways. There are maps in travel books, but we found the best way to experience a souk is to just explore. In Damascus the main souk is called the Souk Al-Hamedia. In Cairo it is called the Khan Al-Kalili. In Aleppo it a conglomeration of souks built up around the Roman road into the old city. The main souks are known as Al-Attarine or At-Tarbush. In all these souks the roads vary from wide enough for traffic to so small that you have to walk single file. Those streets that are big enough for a golf cart will invariably have a small delivery truck come down it honking its horn while the pedestrians squeeze against the wall to let it pass or keep walking as if to say, “Can’t you see I was walking here before you arrived? You can wait.” This only causes the driver to honk that much more. Most are covered and make great places to go when it is raining and they are very safe. Most of the walkways are cobblestone and the coverings make the area dark in the best Indiana Jones motif.
We went into the Souk in Aleppo through what’s left of the old Roman gate. The first part was butchers and nut vendors. The butchers proudly displayed whole sides or quarters of beef , goat or lamb on meat hooks out by the walkway. The strangest thing was they displayed the entire internal system of the goats on a meat hook. It was all attached from the esophagus to the lungs, liver, kidney, stomach, but no intestines. They were being boiled and cleaned for casings right there. It was an anatomy teachers dream and a vegetarian’s nightmare. We never figured out why the nut vendors were next to them, but you can buy any type nut you want with the favorite being pistachio. As we walked further we came upon the spice vendors. The ground spices are displayed in large sacks with the tops open so their bright colors could attract the eye. The vendors would gladly let you taste any spice and since my Arabic vocabulary is weak in the spice section, we tried some very fresh spices to identify them. If you prefer whole spices, just ask. They are kept in the back area. Some of the vendors even make mountain type sculptures with the different color spices to display them. Near the Citadel we did find the tourist area of the souk, but most of the souk was for normal everyday people who need to pick up some things.
Other things you may find in a souk include fruit, clothing (both ready made and made to order for a low price), gold, silver, hardware, leather goods, scarves, blankets and hand woven carpets. It is truly a place to experience. In Damascus we also visited the Souk An-Nihaseen where the coppersmiths work. Off a side road, you approach and can miss this souk if you are not watching. Listening is the best way to find it. Listen for the repetitive tap, tap, tapping of the coppersmiths as they take sheets of copper and with repetitive shaping by hammer and anvil create beautiful bowls and trays, useful pots and pans, lamps and ornamental decorations.
There is only one problem with going to the souk. You will not come out empty handed, but that is part of the experience. It is good we drove to Syria. We have found some beautiful things to add to the house that will remind us of our adventures in the souk. And no, none of or purchases would be helpful in an anatomy class.