Shopping Saudi Style...

As the name of this post might suggest, this here in KSA are done a little differently, including on of my favorite pastimes shopping! There are many ways in which to shop, which according to some, is quite the Saudi thing to do. Now, this is probably due to the fact that there is very little else that can be done for fun in the Kingdom. There are no clubs or bars,drinking is forbidden and you can't dance with people of the opposite (it's considered unsightly!). You can't really go to the beach, because you can't (technically) be on any beach in KSA in a bathing suit (showing skin is BIG no-no, although I have been told of the elusive "ex-pat beaches" where yours truly might actually be able to work on her tan, but more on that when I stop working six days a week and actually have to time to find one of said places). And then of course most of the time it's just too hot to want to be outside anyway, so shopping it is.

Now there are of course two places to do said shopping. There is the souq and the mall. Either option is welcomed in Saudi and by now I have had the opportunity to do both. So first the mall. The malls here in KSA are basically like an enlarged (or perhaps engorged) version of US malls with European stores. There are also other more subtle differences. First you do not see women shopping in large groups the way you in the western world, and of course all of the women who are there are wearing the ever so fashionable abaya. Second, all of the store clerks are men. ALL OF THEM. Even when you to a lingerie store (and no I did not go into a lingerie store just walked past one) the clerks are male. So, I wonder what happens when you don't know the proper bra size? A man is not allowed to measure you and I can only imagine what trying anything on must be like. Finally, there is the issue with shopping in saudi riyals and the arabic numbers. Contrary to popular belief the numbers as we know them 1,2,3,4,5 etc. are not the same in arabic. the 4 basically looks like a backwards three, the 6 looks like a seven and the 5 looks like a 0, so trying to sort out what price is on things, is well as everything here, an adventure.

The souq: souqs are the "original" way to go shopping here in KSA. There basically streets lined with stores. Different souqs are known for different things. There is the more "general" souqs like Al-Balladh where you can go to get an abaya (and is coincidentally where I wanted to go to get mine when I ended up at the creepy shop). There are other souqs that specialize in certain things, like the gold souq (that I have yet to visit) or the Afgan souq, where they have some of the most beautiful rugs I have ever seen. There is one thing to consider when buying a rug, know your price and make sure the rug shop keeper does not show you anything above that price. Why? Because the more expensive the rug, the more beautiful they are and at that point you will no longer be interested in the rugs you can afford because they just don't look as good (even though they looked gorgeous when you first saw them). Also, no price in the souq is set. Like so many things in the middle east, you have to be ready to barter and haggle the price down to something where you think you got a deal and the shop owner is still probably thinking they overcharged you.