Qatar: Doha – Souq Wakif
Souq Wakif is over a 100 years old, it was the place where beduins used to trade camels and livestock. Today it’s a sprawling complex of old buildings and covered passes, where you can buy pretty much anything and then some. Besides the typical souvenir, clothing, household, and other traditional markets, there are several areas within Souq Waqif that are quite unusual and somewhat astounding. There is a bird souq where thousands of parrots, pigeons, and various song birds are for sale (with rare angora kittens, albino hedgehogs, and baby rabbits among them). Why go bird watching – it’s all here! Then there is a gold souq – with just amazing amount and variety of jewelry. The smells and aromas of the spices souq hit you from blocks away with every type of middle-eastern spices on sale. There is also a separate camel and horse souq. But the most unique is the Falcon Souq
