My expectations were not high. I have heard that Doha, the capital of Qatar, is nice but no one has ever raved about it to me. Now, having been there myself, I find there is a lot to praise. I’m looking forward to the bustle of a good souq and Souq Waqif sounds like a particularly good one.
I wake up early and everyone else is still asleep although I can see the light through a crack in the curtains. I slide out of bed and creep over to the window to take a peek, the sun has just risen all red and orange cast over the horizon. The sea is that deep deep blue, as though the water hasn’t quite realized that it’s day time yet. We’re still moving, still cruising and there’s only Arabian Gulf as far as the eye can see. I slide back into bed, not wanting to wake the children.
Perhaps I doze off for a few minutes as all of a sudden, the children are awake. It’s after 7am, almost unheard of for the boys to sleep this late and they groan for the indignation that we are denying them shows on the iPad this morning. It is time to get dressed and go to breakfast. “Don’t you want to go out and explore a whole new country?”. They groan some more. There have been altogether too many late nights.
“Are we going to the buffet for breakfast?” my oldest queries. “I don’t think so” I respond. We are enjoying the relative refinement of the restaurant and it makes it a whole lot easier, being able to order table service and not have us both running round getting the children’s meals and then finding ourselves eating half an hour later. After all, the buffet must be close to 100m end to end. More groaning. It turns out the buffet has better cereal – in the little boxes. I think he’ll live.
Breakfast is the usual juggling act although no groaning from me. The boys eat well and there’s less croissant crumbs today than there was yesterday morning. We must be on the improve! Plus there is tea. After breakfast there are trips back to the cabin, first for hats, then for my sunglasses, which I only miss upon facing the dazzling light when I come to disembark from Deck 4. My husband waits on the dock with the boys. They are elated as the get to hold a falcon whilst I do another 9 flights (of stairs) dash back to cabin #13198.
Finally, we’re on our way. We take the free shuttle bus that deposits us immediately outside of the port area. Luckily this is a walkable distance, even with the boys in tow, to Souq Waqif. Along the way, we have our first glimpses of the Corniche and the Financial District with the Dhow Harbour in the foreground.
We enter the Souq Waqif and are immediately impressed. Yes, it is all newly built &/or renovated but it has an authentic feel to it. The vendors are certainly authentic and so are the wares (except for the mass-produced souvenirs made in the P.R.C – but to be fair, they are everywhere).
We start to wander. It doesn’t take very long before we hear the birds. Sure enough, we round a corner and there they are, hundreds of cages, quite possibly thousands of birds. Not to mention mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, turtles, fish, cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and something tiny and shivering that could be a baby possum. The boys want one of everything. They find some tiny puppies wandering round and stop to gently pat them, giggling when the puppies give them a lick and playfully pull at their shoelaces.
We venture on down little alleys of vendor stalls. There are sweet stalls, spices, groceries, kitchen wares, souvenirs, household items, bags, shoes, barbecues, shisha pipes, pashminas and lots of cafes. We buy some cashews and a packet of chips. The boys are drawn to toys, despite just having had Christmas, and Harley begs for a water gun. I consider indulging him but then we would have to carry it all day.
My husband bargains for some magnets and I get a karak tea, something I have acquired a taste for here in the Middle East. They also sell Turkish Coffee. The aromas are dizzying in the best coffee kind of way.
We wander around and discover the gold souq, where the vendors are renown for their craftsmanship and originality. The boys find a camel, its brassy nose looking like it has been rubbed by every tourist and local alike on the way through these busy alleys.
We come back to the main area and walk a little more. The colors are dazzling. Coffee pots and lamps, local handiwork, clothing and beaded jewelry, not likely to compete with the gold but certainly with a chance of complementing it.
There are locals breakfasting and taking coffee. Ladies walking together in their abayas with children in tow, looking like they are doing the weekly shopping. We spot some groups from our cruise walking through, some buying gold jewelry, some bargaining for souvenirs. One boy, clearly a tourist, has donned a white kaffiya (or ghutra, the traditional Qatari headdress topped with a black chord known as an egal). He smiles at me, clearly feeling a little conspicuous.
There are many more restaurants and cafes off the main street in the narrower alley ways. I spot one called Majlis, literally “a place of sitting” and think how nice it would be to sit and watch the scene for a while. Not today though, there is too much to see.
It doesn’t seem possible to get lost. Each time I think we might be, we pop back out onto one of the main streets. Eventually, after a good look around, we decide it’s time to keep going for the day. Then, just as suddenly, we turn a corner and all of a sudden we are on the outer.
The Lively Souq
Would I Return?
Yes. Souq Waqif is a lively and interesting place. It was renovated in 2006, although a souq has existed here for at least a hundred years. It has an authentic feel and is frequented by tourists and locals alike. There is also a Falcon Souq but unfortunately I didn’t come across it this time.