While whipping around the streets on a typical back breaking bus trip from Dubai back to Sharjah, I spotted two massive buildings with rounded rooftops. Each was identical and a couple of city blocks long, connected one to the other with a second-story skywalk. This, I said to myself, must be the Blue Souk.
Days earlier I’d read about this air-conditioned indoor Arab marketplace, which has decorated Sharjah since 1979. I asked a man who works in my apartment building how to find this architectural wonder filled with world-class shopping. Oh, the misunderstandings of tangled tongues. He gave me walking directions which led me to a small, rather dull outdoor souq nearby, rather than the awesome aisles of the Blue Souk.
So it was another week or so before I made it over to the real Blue Souk in Sharjah, also boringly called the Central Souk. The more inspiring of its two names I am certain has its origins in the thousands of sparkling multi-hued blue tiles whose many designs turn the ordinary light brown of the buildings into an eye-catching marvel.
Inside, I learned that my arrival at shortly after 10:00 a.m. was a little early. Most of the shops were still closed – a state of being that renders the best of souqs boring. So, before the sun and heat made it impossible, I took the opportunity to go for a walk along the Khaled Lagoon, which feeds into the canal which runs through my favorite spot in Sharjah, al Qasbah. Ahhh. Surely enough, the scene inside had livened up a half an hour later when the sun began to melt me. The first floor is not a classic Arab marketplace but has more of an upscale mall appearance and atmosphere. I found that the shopkeepers stayed inside their stores, not one of them calling out to me in true souq style as I walked through.
A short walk up the stairs, though, and the atmosphere shifted, the hallways narrowed and merchandise hung from doors in front of which shopkeepers sat. The Central Souk has an extremely laid back attitude, despite the fact that it is a real souq. When the men in front of the shops held out scarves and perfumes for me as I walked, they took la shukran for an answer and didn’t continue their sales pitch, unlike at most souqs.
I grew hungry and no sooner realized that there didn’t appear to be too many eating establishments in the Blue Souq when I bumped into a tiny restaurant with a few tables outside. I popped in, looked at their offerings and ordered three small triangles of fried dough with vegetables and potatoes. They were so delicious I went back in and bought two more for about 25 cents U.S. each. As I was ordering by the point-through-the-glass-case method, I asked a man behind the counter what I was eating. Samosa, he said. An Indian dish.
The souq, although much quieter in personality than most, was no less colorful and stuffed with scarves and lamps, rugs and jewelry.
I also managed to locate one Afghani who offered me tea, showed me a sword called a shamshir…
…and then fondled me. Gross. I was dressed very modestly, let me tell you, replete with a giant scarf covering the upper half of my body. How many shopkeepers in souqs in the Middle East have I conversed with and even accepted a cup of tea from who came nowhere near groping me? Scores. Except for him. I couldn’t understand his name when he told me, but here is is.
Anyway, it was an unusual event, and life goes on. The Blue Souk may be blue on the outside, but it is full of every color on earth inside.
Shame about the one person who marred an otherwise cool experience. As I like to think though, and as I said to someone who did the same to me, “Allah sees all!”
Love the lamp photo!
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
November 5th, 2010 at 23:41
How do you say that in Arabic?
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Greta Reply:
November 7th, 2010 at 01:52
Not sure which part of the audio, but last verse on this page
http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/showChapter.php?ch=49&verse=13
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Wow..I would never expect that, especially to a westerner. The Arabs I encountered in the UAE seemed so reserved to outsiders. Well, life is an adventure, right?
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
November 7th, 2010 at 01:33
They definitely seem for the most part very reserved. My experience with him was a fluke.
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How lucky I am to be able to see this wonder in a few days time with you as may guide. La shurkan I can say, scarf is at the ready and credit cards I’ll give to you to sit on, just in case….
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
November 10th, 2010 at 11:39
Ha – glad your scarf is at the ready. You will love that place
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What a great experience, except for the one person. At least you got to see a cool sword.
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
November 10th, 2010 at 11:39
That is an excellent point, Steve. I did get to see a cool sword
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Markets really are the pulse of a city. Love your photos. (The nasty fella………..karma will come home to him too!)
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Sabina Lohr Reply:
November 17th, 2010 at 12:41
Thank you, Nancie! The Blue Souk is chock full of incredible photo opps.
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Hi Sabrina,
My daughter aged 24, will be posted to Sharjah in Mid-June for 3 months. Is the heat really so unbearable? We are from SEA n no doubt our weather can go as high as 33 degree C, I am quite concern about her well being over there. Is it relatively safe to go out on her own in the early part of the night. I gather from yr blog that it near impossible to go out before 7pm as it will probably melt her too! Just wandering, how does the office workers goes out for lunch or just walking a short distance back to their apartment.? I read that new expats/tourists do get fainting spells. I really like yr blog, good pictures and very spot on comments. Thanks for writing about places like Sharjah, at least we get real infor of the place that we have no idea what to expect. Take care. Thanks.
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Sabina Reply:
May 7th, 2011 at 03:46
Hi. Thanks a lot for your comments. In the summer when your daughter will be in Sharjah, the temperatures can go as high as 40 to 45. Even the locals think this is just way too hot, and they use air conditioners in buildings and automobiles very liberally. As far as stepping out for lunch around noontime, it can be done but she won’t want to be walking a long distance. Maybe she can get a ride with someone or take a taxi to a restaurant. Taxis are very inexpensive in the emirates. Nighttime is very safe, part of the reason being because it’s a very strict Islamic emirate where alcohol is 100% illegal even in hotels, there aren’t people intoxicated by drugs and/or alcohol wandering the streets. There are also no homeless people or mentally ill people out and about. She’ll find mostly groups of very quiet men, husbands and wives, or families on the streets at night. Sharjah is a very orderly, regimented society. She’ll be safe there. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.
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springflower8 Reply:
May 12th, 2011 at 11:37
Hi Sabrina, Thank you so much for your comments. We are more relieved now after reading your comments. Are taxis relatively safe to take anytime of the day? I heard they have lady taxis drivers too. Thank you.
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Sabina Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 01:05
Hi again! I’m glad what I had to say about Sharjah helped you. I took taxis at night several times – although not late at night. I always hailed them while standing on the sidewalk and never had a problem. It’s such a restrictive society, it’s not very likely that anything bad will happen. When I first arrived in Sharjah, I flew into Dubai and took a taxi driven by a man from the airport into Sharjah at approximately 5:00 in the morning with no problem. They do have some lady taxi drivers, but I’ve only seen them taking people from the Sharjah airport, not picking up people in the streets.
If you want to learn more about Sharjah, you can read Gulf News (a Dubai newspaper) or Gulf Today (a Sharjah newspaper) online. Or ask me again, of course
Today’s edition of Gulf Today is reporting that on Saturday it was 45 degrees in Sharjah!