Souq Waqif
A souq rebuilt in the old style, with a falcon market and a stable of Arabian horses.
Duration
2 hrs – 4 hrs
Best time
After 5pm
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The souk had existed for at least a century but had been largely rebuilt in concrete in the 1990s. Qatar had that demolished and rebuilt it from 2006 using the original techniques: mud and timber walls, bamboo beams, lime plaster.
So it is a reconstructed souk, and that is worth knowing. It nonetheless works as a real market: spices, cloth, tailors, and two particular sections — the falcon market, with its veterinary hospital open to the public, and the stables of the mounted police's Arabian horses.
Getting there
In central Doha, near the corniche. Metro gold line, Souq Waqif station; the exit is right outside.
What to bring
- Covering clothes
Rules on site
Many shops close in the middle of the day, from noon to four, and reopen in the evening: that is the Gulf rhythm. Covered dress is expected, shoulders and knees.