Souqs
From Alhannah
If you are adventurous and willing to be out of your comfort zone (and possibly feel a little stupid), you can have a lot of fun in the souqs. They open around 9 am, close around noon, and reopen around 4 pm. They get very crowded and parking is a zoo, so carpooling is a great idea. Bargaining is acceptable, expected and even encouraged.
To get to the souqs, follow the Corniche and turn away from the bay at Grand Hamad street (there's a Qatar Central Bank building on the corner). As you drive up Grand Hamad, the fabric and tailor souqs will be on your left; the Iranian souq will be on your right and over a couple of streets. Turn left at the Al Fardan building, take the next right, and then right again to find yourself in the gold souq. If you turn right off Grand Hamad street at the Al Fardan building you come to the dhow (fishing boat) roundabout. Spanning out from there are the electricity and plumbing souqs, and the upholstery and drapery souqs.
Marhaba Magazine has a great map showing the location of the different souqs. If you are looking for something in particular just keep asking in shops and someone will eventually direct you to a shop that sells what you want. It is safe and fun!
There are also souqs for various things all over the city: the rug souq, the fruit and vegetable souq, the pot souq, the appliance souq, the used car souq, the used furniture souq. Just about anything you want you can find in a souq and have the fun of searching and bargaining.
- See Also
