My Saudi Arabia

If you spent a year in the Kingdom but have not been to a traditional market, you didn’t actually get to know the country. Today I will try to fill in this gap with my article, and you already know where to go next weekend 🙂

Russian version

Why is it so important to visit this market?

For many locals the market is a traditional shopping place. They come to Taibah for clothes, toys, cosmetics, incense, and jewelry. Here you can buy an abaya (for every pocket and taste — traditional and modern, flamboyant and elegant), an interesting souvenir for friends at home, a piece of jewelry for yourself or someone you love.

Taibah market hosts the most famous gold market in Riyadh. We, Europeans, are used to buying gold in boutiques. Locals buy them at the gold market — where in dozens of neighboring stores you can find jewelry worth from a hundred to several hundred thousand riyals (to calculate it approximately in dollars, multiply by 3.75). There are dozens of little stores located on several trading rows. After the fourth or fifth store your eyes will get lost in the endless gold glitter.

In general, gold is cheaper in Saudi Arabia than in other countries, so for some expats it is an additional way to make money. And for local women, buying gold is a known way to invest. Not every lady puts her money in stocks, but most Arab women have learned to turn the spare money that they get from their husbands into gold.

We walk into another shopping street and enter the clothing quarter. Just like in the gold market, there are dozens of stores with abayas (covers worn by women in the Kingdom). The hardest part begins — you have to choose which store to go into. Most of the abayas worn by women are black. This makes all the stores very similar to each other — see the photo below. Some shops are trying to lure customers with crazy discounts, and some hang the most interesting models at the entrance…

On the outskirts of the clothing market there are incense stands. It smells of Oud, a traditional, expensive incense that locals like to use to fume their clothes and rooms. This scent is said to be a symbol of wealth (not surprisingly because of its enormous cost). Right at the exit of the sales aisle on a stand shaped like a smoker stands a small smoker, sending around this heavy but pleasant scent. The vendor hopes it will attract customers… In the evenings the market managers place boxes of small bottles of water (free) in the streets, so that nobody is thirsty.

Cash is respected in this market. Few stores have a terminal — so stock up on large and small bills if you are planning to go there for shopping. By the way, in the market there are far less problems with fitting rooms (which I wrote about in this article), as many stores have a small space behind the curtain.

Despite the vendors’ endless invitations, I walk past most of the shops. I still don’t feel comfortable buying clothes in this environment. It’s too bustling and crowded. But I am tempted to buy an abaya. I need to add to my collection something unusual and elegant, but at the same time in traditional black color. And soon I find what I am looking for — a black abaya with blue flowers on the sides…

My favorite Alsharq bookstore is waiting for me at the exit from the market. In all honesty, I haven’t found books in there, but with regards to stationery, it beats the popular Jarir Bookstore in both price and selection. It’s the perfect place for anyone who draws in different techniques, paints on canvas, carves wood, sculpts with clay (you get the idea)… All in all, I recommend it!

That’s how my walk through Taibah Market looked like this time 🙂 It’s a very colorful place and I suggest that you should visit it at least once to learn a little more about the local life.