Our thematic selections : Souks

The Arabic work “souk” is a generic term. It can describe a village’s modest weekly market. But in the definition we use here, it has a more precise meaning, indicating a permanent commercial space, either covered or not, with both merchant stalls and artisan workshops.

In the Arab-Muslim world, where the economies were traditionally based on the caravan trade and commerce, souks were often surrounded by funduqs and caranvenserais, traditional inns offering accommodation and storage for itinerant traders.

Souks played an essential role in the life of a city. They have fascinated travelers and orientalists and still attract tourists in search of picturesque sites.

Craftsmen are reinterpreting traditions without overturning them, and souks, which are driven by informal trade, also offer low-cost goods made in China and Turkey alongside local products.

Souks carry on, in a very different way from the Western-style shopping centers and high-end malls that have recently cropped up in the large cities of the Middle East and the Maghreb.

This selection is just a taste of the AWI's rich heritage.

You can find out more about these subjects by exploring this portal or by visiting the Institute.