Welcome

Write-up:

The setting that we decided to go with is Souq Waqif. Going to a place that has truly captured the essence of Qatari tradition was a great decision, as it is a place that holds a significant amount of nostalgia for all of us. It could also be described as an open-air museum. The sounds of chatter from numerous people from various backgrounds engulfed us as soon as we arrived in Souq Waqif. This was a beautiful moment to witness, as it highlighted the diversity and vibrancy of Qatar’s culture. The setting was filled with lights and bright colors as the souq was decorated for the holy month of Ramadan.

Souq Waqif has many sections, and in order for us to be able to cover as much ground as possible, we split up and explored different areas individually; more specifically, we explored the spice market (Ghada), fabric shops (Meera), animal section (Aisha), and the gold souq (Masouma). We chose to focus on these specific sections as we agreed that each one of them brings about something special.

Even though we were all in different sections, the environment surrounding us was quite similar. In all the sections, we felt a family-friendly atmosphere, with vendors eager to share their products and traditions with us. The vibrant colors, bustling crowds, and delicious smells made our experience at Souq Waqif during Ramadan truly unforgettable.

The interactions in the different markets are also worth mentioning. This is because one shared interaction across all markets is the different bargaining tactics that the shop employees use in order to attract potential customers. We also witnessed many familial interactions, especially between the older and younger generations. The sense of community and togetherness was palpable as we observed families shopping together, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. It was heartwarming to see the passing down of traditions and cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. The souq truly felt like a place where bonds were strengthened, and memories were made.

The interactions between the older and younger generations are a perfect display of Qatari values. The respect and care shown between family members demonstrated the importance of heritage and connection in Qatari culture. As we navigated through the crowded lanes of the souq, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of warmth and belonging as we witnessed these familial interactions. A beautiful reminder of the close ties that families in Qatar share was the sharing of knowledge and traditions between generations. It was a truly enriching experience to witness such authentic moments of love and unity in the bustling marketplace.

Souq Waqif is a place that is rich when it comes to senses, such as the things we could smell, hear, and see. The sound of chatter and laughter filled the air, blending with the aroma of spices and incense, creating a vibrant atmosphere that was both lively and welcoming. It was evident that the souq was not just a marketplace but a hub of community and culture where generations came together to connect and preserve their heritage.

As Qataris, as soon as we walk into Souq Waqif, we get a sense of nostalgia. As it is a place that we would visit more regularly throughout our childhood, it holds a special place in our hearts. It also acts as a way to connect with our grandparents and learn about our cultural roots through the stories and traditions passed down to us. The souq serves as a living museum of Qatari heritage, where history and modernity seamlessly coexist, providing a unique experience for both locals and visitors alike.

Podcast Episode Two: Open Air Museum:

Hi guys!  Uh, so in the second episode of our podcast, we’re going to be discussing the ethnographic research task. And for our task, we decided as a group to visit Souq Waqif, as it represents an open-air museum. And we thought that it would give us the best opportunity to take into account multiple behaviours, interactions, and environments.

So as the Souq is a big place, we decided to split up and go discover different sections. So Meera went and discovered Textile markets, Masouma went and discovered the soup markets, uh, Aisha went and discovered the animal section, and then I went and discovered the spice markets. Hi, this is Masouma, and I want to discuss how, before the ethnography research task, we created a template for criteria that we’re planning on each discovery in our intersection.

So through the criteria, we had different elements such as time, behaviours, interactions, environment, senses, and even how our background influenced our research. We wanted to explore specific criteria because we wanted to have a direct comparison between all our elements. Between all sections and another thing is we had a time limit put on each of us when we entered our sections So before we started we all decided on having exactly one hour  of exploring that section.

That way we would all have an equal amount, uh, of time to observe and, uh, research the area.  So now let’s walk you through the different departments. This is Mira. I’m going to be talking about the textile department and all the data I discovered.  So first, I want to share my excitement for this department because I recently discovered my love for fabrics.

Since it’s Ramadan, me and my mother have been shopping for, uh, jalabiyah, which is the traditional clothing we usually wear in Ramadan. So I was really excited to discover the topic.  What I saw, uh, fabric markets are open to each other where, uh, it’s easy to window shop. So I remember walking through a mediaeval like, uh, alleyway and the shops were from left to right.

Uh, they were open to each other. The doors were all open. The windows were open. And I noticed that, uh, They displayed their vibrant fabrics all around their shops, from endless hanged patterns and embroidery covering all around the walls and the windows. And it was very unique to see that the textile department coloured Suquagga for its rich fabrics.

Uh, for the smells I smelled were mostly  the scent of fabric, which I can’t really explain. Do you girls know how to explain or do you have a sense of explanation of what fabric smells like? First, let’s all agree that it is Really? Strong. I don’t know how it is, but it’s really strongly. It’s kind of overwhelming.

Silk, when I smell it, it’s kind of cold. I’m not sure how you guys. Yes. Like, it’s kind of cold. And, uh, well, then I smell cotton. It’s different. Cotton seems to have, like, a different grasp of, uh, the smell of its environment more than silk. So this is just my, how I smell it. And overall, the scent we, the scent I smelled was very recognizable, especially cause I’ve just been to a fabric store recently.

I could recognize that this is a fabric store.  I heard a lot of chatters between the, uh, the workers and the sellers, and mostly a foreign language, which is  the most common language I heard was Urdu or Hindi. I could also hear, uh, kids playing from a distance since you can find like markets where they, they sold like.

and toys. So you can, you could hear like kids playing in the background.  I realized that there were a lot of older women, or we could say older generation, shopping in the fabric stores. I couldn’t find a lot of people who were, or a lot of ladies that were my age, but, um, I could see very passionate, uh, older ladies very excited to buy fabrics, especially because of Ramadan.

Uh, I saw most of the sellers and workers were from, uh, Like you mentioned from South Asia, they seem to have really good experience with the environment they worked in, in the sense where, uh, they knew the preferences of, of their, of their buyers. Core interactions, I had one, I had actually a very unique interaction when, with one customer and one seller.

So I asked to look, look at silk fabrics for caftans, uh, and was surprised to find out that they had a unique selection. I always thought that they were. The souk had more traditional, uh, patterns and more traditional, uh, Qatari fabrics rather than silks from, from let’s say Japan and the The other, like, European countries that, that import, uh, fabrics, so I was very surprised to see their selection.

Uh, the sellers I worked with seemed to have a very good understanding of the culture. As soon as he saw me, he understood my preferences and unrolled textiles that were soft colors and modern patterns. On the contrary, I saw the way he interacted with, with customers that looked older. Uh, for example, one lady.

Uh, I could tell she was more mature by the way she talked and, uh, the way she interacted with the seller. He laid out for, for her more traditional bright color fabrics  that were mostly floral patterns, which is a very, um, jalapeos. The same market, when I was looking at my fabrics, the older lady wearing the niqab  interfered with me to express her interest in one of the silk fabrics.

Since it was different than what she chose, she was very interested on my preference and asked me also to give her my opinion on some of the fabrics she chose. She was very sweet to even take me to another store next door and, uh, she told me that the store had more affordable selection, that, uh, she saw that it was more, that it was a better quality than others.

Uh, and also she was very kind enough to give me her contact number if I had any questions regarding the fabric stores and, uh, and Souk Waqf, since she had really good experience and understanding of the Souk there, uh, and her name was kind of anonymous because she gave me the name Foufou, which I found was very funny, but also cute.

So yeah, that’s my interaction with Lady Foufou. Do you think her name would have been Fatima? Fatima or something like that. That starts with F. Maybe because she’s old fashioned, maybe like an old fashioned name. I, I think it’s like, because she, we have in our culture, like, we’re very open with each other.

So she saw me as someone,  not as the worst. I think she saw you as rude, don’t tell me. And in our culture, it’s, I want to express how we are very open with each other. Like, if I find someone I don’t know necessarily as family, but  it’s like I’m talking to my, to my aunt. So guys, and for anyone who’s listening to the podcast, they had really nice Jalabiyahs.

I did not expect to find. Very trendy Jalabiyahs there, but if you’re looking for Jalabiyahs for Ramadan, go to the Suhoor.  Hi everyone, so I’m Masoum and I’m going to be covering the, my experience with the Gold Souq and the ethnography research that I had conducted there.  So I also visited the World Suk after Maghrib prayer.

So here I instantly saw the crowds start to gather, especially as it was the area right before Gharanga’u. And Gharanga’u is one of the celebrations in Qatar. It’s a traditional celebration that occurred on the 15th day of Ramadan.  And before this period, many families, all generations of Qatari women, uh, go to the Suk and prepare these traditional, traditional celebrations and collect gold.

It was very interesting to see, uh, and a very interesting time to explore the Gold Souk.  So, definitely the demographic was, uh, filled with, uh, older generation of Qatari women, but it was also very interesting to see how it intersected with newer generations as they’re coming to get new items of gold and the different tastes people had throughout the shops.

And just by entering the gold shops, the brightness of the gold juxtaposed with the traditional elements in the souk and the shops, as most of the souks were wooden and old and very traditional. The gold reflected on them beautifully and it created this bright atmosphere and this very cheery, happy environment all around.

Um, and I want to first discuss the senses that I was seeing around me.  So as I discussed, it was extremely bright and, uh,  It was very much like a time capsule. I think the Gold Took is one of the areas in Sukwakif that did not change at all from visiting it, uh, visiting it at a younger age till now. It has not changed one bit.

The shops look exactly the same. Maybe the gold, uh, and the, maybe the gold, uh, materials have changed, but definitely it remains a time capsule that is applied for all other women.  And as for the sounds, I was constantly hearing sounds of haggling and bargaining all around the shops where these older women were trying to find the best and cheapest prices all around.

But also it was so beautiful to hear that in contrast with the Like, rattling sounds of gold while customers were trying them on and testing them out.  It’s such a nostalgic sound, strangely, to hear people testing out gold and  just that sound of gold hitting other gold is just, uh,  something I cannot describe, but it’s such a particular part of our culture and tradition.

Um, as for the smell, I think the Gold Souk has a very distinct, uh, smell than the rest of Souk Waqif. It’s a very musky, uh, area as, as it’s, it reflects on its customers, it’s a very, it’s mainly catered to older generations. And that musky sandalwood scent was all around.  As for the interactions, it was very interesting to see the different interactions between different demographics of people.

So, for example, when I saw different customers interacting with each other, it was mainly this dynamic between older and younger generations of other women, and seeing how their different tastes and their arguments about which, uh, which, uh, which pieces of gold would be an investment, which is trendy, and seeing how everyone catered to their own, uh, opinion of what was valuable, uh, in the boat shops.

So, as I discussed, the Gold Souk was definitely a time capsule. It took me back in time and every sense of mine was extremely heightened. From the smells, the looks, even the interactions with the shopkeepers. It was so apparent how the shopkeepers have become so familiar with the space and the Qatari community that they even started speaking, uh, Arabic back to me.

And that was actually one of my favorite interactions was I was talking to them in English, uh, and trying to.  To work, like to work,  work towards what they were comfortable with, but for them, uh, speaking Arabic was one of the things that attracted most customers because they were so easy and there was no any, uh, there wasn’t any linguistic barriers.

Hi everyone, I’m Ghada and now I’m going to talk about the spice market and some of the shops that sell other foods and candies and things like that. So first,  first of all, as we all know. We all went during Ramadan. So during that time, it’s usually more crowded, especially in the spice market because people are there to like, get some spices so that they can cook with it so that they can like, use them around the house.

And especially as Masouma already mentioned, it was also a time close to Garinga’ou. So there are lots of families there with their children to buy candies. As one of the traditions that was carried out in Garinga’ou is that kids Give candy to one another. So some of the interactions that I witnessed was that was between the employees and the consumers and mostly, as my group members mentioned, they were mostly wargons.

The employees and the consumers were having a bargain again, uh, about the prices. And some consumers were even saying that other shops sell them at lower price, because obviously this is a bargaining tactic. Uh, so some of the employees would also stand outside the shops and try to attract the consumers, just like come and maybe They have something that they.

Didn’t think of.  And so there are lots of, it’s very family oriented. Most of the interactions I saw was between parents and children, especially with the candy stores, as they would look around like kids would get excited with the sweets and the chocolates and they like tell the parents that they want some.

And then for the spices specifically, it’s mostly women of the older generation and some men even, uh, they’re there to check the spices. Some of them were opening up the bottles and spending, spending them. It’s, it’s.  These interactions and behaviors made it feel, made the setting feel comfortable, made it feel homey.

And then, especially with like, our backgrounds, I feel like all of us as Qataris can agree that whenever we visit Souq Waqif, there’s this sense of nostalgia, of childhood, of  like, a connection with our grandparents and our great grandparents, because it’s someplace that  impacted them a lot and was a huge part of their lives.

So, the senses and the environment around me, there were Dim lights between the shops because the spice markets are in the tiny alleyway and the tiny alleyways They were lit up using string lights, especially during Ramadan. That’s why they’re Most likely up. And then you can also smell multiple spices.

You can hear the chatter of people. Obviously, the chatter sounds different. There’s Arabic, there’s English, there’s Urdu, there’s many, many languages. As people from many different backgrounds come to Souq Waqif, even some tourists, especially after the World Cup and the, there’s this, Souq Waqif has become this huge tourist attraction.

So hi guys, this is Asha and I will be talking about the animal market in Souq Waqf, which is  initially known as the Bird Souq.  So the first thing that, um, I noticed when walking and transitioning from the kind of modern part that we were in and going into Souq Waqif and diving deep on my own, was of course, um, due to me having a really sensitive nose, the first thing I noticed was the smell right away.

So the smell of feathers hit me as well as the fact that it was kind of raining. So the soft patter of rain and kind of the wet, and it was kind of disgusting,  um, the wet drops of the rain with feathers and, um, kind of disgusting.  And as well as the lingering smell of shisha, because we were walking  from the place that there was all of like these cafes, and I felt like the smell of shisha kind of just stuck with me and my abaya.

So I was smelling it everywhere I go, which is really frustrating. After that, what caught my attention was the behaviors of everyone there. So firstly, I noticed that it was rich with all kinds of, like all ages of children and parents as well. The children were, uh, children were obviously very excited and eager, but some of them were scared and they were crying from the flapping.

Uh, and then as for the parents, they were running after their children, most of them worried and, uh, others were taking pictures of their kids before the bird moved from their kid’s shoulder. And, um, I also met Asaab, a really interesting person.  weird behavior or like an interaction between  a parent and a child.

There was this kid who was really close to a turtle  and I don’t know what the kid was doing to the turtle, but  it looked like it was drowning the turtle  and it tried to kiss the turtle or lick the turtle. I’m not sure,  but the parent was so mad, but taking pictures at the same time. So that was funny in my opinion.

However, the behavior of the workers were very interesting, was very interesting. So for one, they were very eager and they were very experienced with the animals. Like they would do certain hand gestures for the birds to do a flip or whistle in a certain way for the birds to come down. So it was very interesting to see.

However, what was.  Probably the most prominent thing I saw there was the interaction between workers versus other workers, like how sellers would kind of compete for their own shop and they would stand outside of their shop yelling the best price or half off, trying to gain the attention of people walking by,  which was interesting.

As for interactions, it was mainly, um, Between customers and workers, and there is a lot of bargaining involved, and I think that’s what every market has in common, but I was shocked to see that even now when selling animals, there is a kind of bargaining involved, which I think is very What do you think are the ethical dilemmas of bargaining for animals lives?

Well for, well for one, animals are not, is not, they’re not an inanimate object, they’re not a spice or a fabric,  they’re not gold, they’re something that has a soul, so how can you bargain for a less price if they’re an animal? So if they can, you’re taking them into their, your home, so there should be like a set price in my opinion.

Thank you for your question. Philosophical question, yes, of course. So, and I would hear phrases like, No, no, that’s too much, my friend. I’m not taking that. Or offer your, uh, other, um, There was another seller who offered me half. I’m not stupid. And it almost seemed like a fight. But if not for the fair ones.

Afterwards, they seemed so friendly after everything was kind of bought and sold. So the majority were really enjoying the interactions with the actual actual animals instead of just focusing on buying it. It was like a petting zoo or a zoo for the children. I want to also talk about a certain interaction that I went through, which is different because it wasn’t with an actual human being, it was with a bird.

So there was this spirit. That was huge and it seemed like it was old, the parrot, but the parrot was talking and flipping and I was laughing and it was, I don’t know, raising his wing as if it was waving at me. So I had like a cute interaction with a bird and one of them flew on my shoulder. And, um, there was actually one incident where I almost dropped a rabbit, a pink rabbit,  and.

A lot of, uh, many different interactions, which were interesting, especially since I was with animals. Finally, I would like to talk about my background influence on, uh, the souk, uh, the bird Souk was a childhood table. I think we can all agree upon that. It was what we considered our unofficial petting zoo.

It was truly a nostalgic place that brought back rushing memories of me coming here as a kid, eager to buy any type of animal or take one home with me, whether it was a small little lizard or fish.  Um, and So it was an interesting experience. In conclusion, I think we can all wrap up by describing our experience in one word, which is nostalgic.

So, uh, as we said, uh, Souq Waqif acts as an open air museum for us personally as, uh, Qataris, because it represents our culture in every different aspect, in every different market, from spices to gold to animals and to textiles. In the end, we can all agree that Suq al Ghuf will always remain a Permanent time capsule for all of us.

And if anyone would like to ask about gold, textiles, animals, and even spices, you know who to come to. So thank you for listening. Bye.