Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Souqs

One of our favorite things to do while living abroad is going to local markets. It doesn’t really matter what kind of market. Clothing markets are fun. So are food markets, artisan markets, and even touristy gift markets. It’s a fun way to get out into a city, see new stuff, and avoid staying trapped in the inevitable bubble that we all find ourselves in. One thing I realized when I first moved abroad is how easy it is to get stuck in that bubble. It’s inevitable really to a certain extent. People crave familiarity and routine. Living abroad forces you into many unfamiliar and un-routine situations, so when you can find yourself going to a mall, visiting a chain restaurant, or doing any activity that reminds you of your formal “normal” life, it’s hard to resist the charm.

Obviously the downside of this approach is you miss out on the whole point of living abroad. Like anything, there needs to be balance. I have found that maintaining a normal routine helps keep my focus on my work and on relationships with family and friends. However, every now and again, it’s nice to get out into the community and do something different and distinctly un-routine. Markets are a great way to do that. Last weekend, in an effort to get out of the routine, see some of the city, and even pick up a few gifts for the holidays, I went venturing out into the world of the local markets of Riyadh, called souqs.

We had been to souqs before. We got the plants for our home at a local plant souq, but I was after something more eclectic. We had heard from some friends about the various different things that could be procured at the souqs across the city. When payday came, and the weekend followed, we made plans to go to the famous Riyadh Clocktower Souq.

I have detailed this before, but planning any outing in Riyadh requires strict scheduling and deliberate departure times in order to avoid getting locked out of your destination due to the regular prayer times. So we left early in the morning.  A few of us piled into the car and drove out of the northern part of the city towards the older, western part of the city where the souq was. Shannon wasn’t feeling well so it was a few of our neighbors and me. We were told as soon as we got there that we absolutely had to go to the “cheesy bread” place first. I was game, so when we arrived, we walked to a small food counter and ordered four and a few cups of tea and sat down. What they brought us was magnificent. The best way to describe these “cheesy breads” is to say they are like a small, thin, pita bread hammered down and coated with a soft, white cheese, and drizzled with honey. They are rolled up into a wrap and served warm. It’s the perfect balance between sweet and savory and really kicked off our trip right. It was more than enough to fill a person up so we were ready to be on our way. I paid the bill for our four “cheesy breads” and tea, which came out to a grand total of 20 SAR ($5) and we went through to the markets. I still have no idea what they are called. We ordered with four fingers held up and some poor pantomiming and never actually exchanged words with the owner. I look forward to finding out, and trying more.

The souqs reminded me of the markets in Ecuador a bit. They are essentially a gathering of small, living room sized shops connected together in a half-indoor, half-outdoor weaving mall/street. Some stores sold food. Some sold jewelry. Others sold clothing, or antiques, or scarves. We even came across one that sold hand build and hand carved rosewood furniture, which was beautiful. We wandered our way around the area, walking past old, beautiful buildings and a large courtyard area. We were told by our veteran visitors (who also happened to have lived in Riyadh as children) that the courtyard doubled as the location for public executions or “punishments” on certain days. That certainly gave me a moment of pause. I hope never to wander into that as an accidental spectator on one of those certain days.

At one point we noticed that a group of three Saudi boys, probably about 18 or 19 years old were following us from afar as we zigged and zagged through the stores. After we went into one antique shop, one of them tentatively walked up to me as his friends were watching from twenty feet away and he said, “Hello...how, are, you?” in broken English before scurrying away as his friends giggled. It was a bold attempt at practicing his English. After I replied to him, I thought how terrified I’d be to speak with a local Saudi in Arabic.

Each souq had a variety of cool things and of course, everything is negotiable in terms of price and
quantity. After picking up a few gifts for our return to the states for the holidays, I looked down at my watch to see that it was nearly time for the midday prayer, thus the inevitable shut down of everything. Our party split up as if on Supermarket Sweep and haggled our way to a few last minute purchases before meeting back up at the car where we headed home, disappointed that we couldn’t get any more of that “cheesy bread” to go, as they had already closed for prayer.

It was a really cool cultural experience, and a good way for me to get out of my routine and interact with some locals. I got to eat some delicious food, browse around at the local shops, and pick up a few things for my family and friends, while being away from the norm for a short while. I look forward to going back again with Shannon.

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