Monday 2 June 2008

The Arabian Fairytale Part Seven: The Central Souq in Sharjah

Holidays in Australia are coming up in just a few weeks so the Princess and the Sheikh decided to visit the northern Emirate of Sharjah where the Princess had heard of an amazing souq where souvenirs of the UAE could be purchased.

Some women of the Al Andalus camp were meeting to travel to the souq so the Princess and the Sheikh joined to follow them through the wilderness of the north western desert – another strange and unfamiliar place.

Once again the MFCs were of the 4WD variety and after a few minutes loading up we were flying off into the desert. The Sheikh had a big night drinking red wine so the Princess was behind the wheel. Now a CRV MFC just doesn’t have the grunt of a Land Cruiser so when the Princess looked down to the speedo and found she was travelling at 150 km/hr she almost fainted. She has never driven an MFC at this speed before and was having trouble keeping apace with the leaders who weaved their way in and out of the traffic. This picture is of the blue souk against the modern buildings of Sharjah

There were 7 women of Al Andalus and their MFCs were on a course to the souq. Nothing was going to get between them and their hours of prowling the souqs for bargains; not the slow moving traffic, not the roadwork, not the trucks and definitely not the desert wind which was blowing fiercely! The Princess put her foot firmly to the floor and powered the MFC forward. At 150 klicks fear set in and she backed off a bit. The leaders slowed for her to catch up and maintained a more sedate 140 klm/hour for the rest of the trip………PHEW! We must have that speed alarm on the MFC attended to – off with it’s head!

Arriving at the souq the Sheikh and the Princess knew they would not be able to keep pace with the shopping of the Al Andalus women! Women on a mission they were! So we parted company and browsed the souq at leisure. There were jewellery, gold and electronic souqs, carpet and cloth souqs, readymade clothing and shoes souqs – all filled to the rafters and everyone claiming to be the cheapest and most authentic! There were trinkets and souvenirs and all the stalls were attended by men of the sub-continent – Indians, Pakistanis and such – the cream of the sales genies of the East. Of course the Sheikh is a great bargainer, trained in the souqs of Bali, Singapore and Kota Kinabalu, so he set to work on getting the right price for everything from pashminas to carpets, bedspeads and carved boxes. The Sheikh gains a huge sense of satisfaction knowing he has made a good purchase at a great price. He feels he has achieved his best today and is satisfied with his purchases for the desert camp and the family at home.

Having travelled so far the Princess and the Sheikh decided it would be good to cruise the city and see what was on offer. Of all the cities in the UAE the Princess says Sharjah is the nicest so far. The city feels like a city on the sea. There are inlets and islands and plenty of water. The main dock is on the Corniche and so it is a busy port city with trading vessels lining the quays and lots of activity on the water. A jet ski park reminds the Princess of the Gold Coast in far off Australia!

After a leisurely look at the city the Princess and the Sheikh head back towards the desert camp. Another adventure in the Arabian Fairytale!

1 comment:

  1. Very cool, we must do the Sharjah souk on our return.

    ReplyDelete