A group here, the Saudi Aramco Employees Associate, puts on
tours and events, and last month I signed up for a tour of the nearby town of
Qatif – an ancient fishing village on the east coast of KSA, right on the
Persian Gulf.
The big attraction for the trip was a souk (sook) – what we’d
call a flea market combined with a farmer’s market – and down the street
another produce market and fish market. It was a lovely clear day with low humidity
and temperature of 85 when we left at 0700 (by mid-afternoon it topped out at
98). I had my great big hat on and my new camera and two busloads of us headed
off from camp.
The souk covers about 3 acres, some of it on concrete, some
of it on dirt. The dirt here is mostly sand, and it kicks up very quickly if
walking through it, so there were always clouds of dust. Luckily there was a
pretty good breeze blowing so it stayed mostly clear.
The fruit for sale was lovely, and if I’d had any way to
keep it and use it I’d have come back with bags of it – mango, oranges,
eggplant, peppers, pomegranate, melons, and more. Oddly, there were lots of
water-bearing foods. Strange for the desert!!
If you like birds, this is a good place because there were
dozens of bird sellers – everything from tiny ducklings to huge turkeys.
Apparently the Saudis like exotic birds and there were some unique species on
display, either in stacked up cages or in large wire cages on the ground. There
were also cats, dogs, and at least one goat tethered and being haggled over.
Of course, if you wanted personal items you could take your
pick from a massive assortment of, hmmm, odds and ends. One vendor had a large
try of wallets, and a rack of sunglasses. (“45 Riyals,” he said as I tried on a
pair. Then he winked and said with a grin, “they aren’t really Ray-Bans”)
Others had a collection of stuff that would’ve made a flea
marketer at home proud – electronics gadgets next to hand tools next to power
tools next to welding rods next to a very strange looking electrical gadget
that I couldn’t guess what it was next to an assortment of flashlights.
There were spice merchants whose display consisted of
10-gallon fabric bags filled with spices – any of which would have made a fortune
for a caravan 100 years ago!
The smells were exotic and rich and varied, and
then you walked ten paces away and smelled garbage on the other side of the
fence. And then a vendor with a table full of fragrance – they are big on
perfume here. It’s an interesting place.
And I have a new camera! After months of borrowing and making due, I've shopped the classifieds carefully and come up with the same body and lens I use at home - this trip was a good test and I'm very pleased. More images on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/mark.gieringer. More on this trip day after tomorrow – ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment