Tajine/Souq Markets

I am making an attempt to blog more often, and I have some time today to blog about my weekend! Thursday evening (our version of Friday night) I went to an AWA (American Women’s Association) dinner at Tajine, a Moroccan restaurant located in the souq markets.  (More about those later!)

My friend Maiken and I decided to go to the souqs early, because it gets very busy on the weekends.  We arrived about 5 o’clock, and decided to walk around a little.  We were hungry and dinner was not until 7, so we decided to have a sushi snack at a restaurant called Soy.  It was so good! I have not had any sushi since we got to Doha, so I was relieved to know there is good sushi available!

This was not the first time I have had Moroccan. On our Inauguration Weekend trip to DC, our friend Dan took us to dinner at a place called Marrakesh, and if you are ever in the DC area, you should go! They serve you a 7 course meal highlighting all the great Moroccan foods.  There is also nightly belly dancing. It was amazing! So I knew I would recognize most of the items on the menu for dinner.

After our sushi, we shopped around a little, and it was time to go to Tajine.  There were 34 people signed up to go, and most of the women brought their husbands.  Maiken and I had left ours at home 🙂  There were three tables, and our table had some great people, who work for the army here in Doha. One of them was from Pittsburgh! So that made for good conversation.

For dinner, I got a salad and Chicken Bastilla.  What is that, you ask? Here is a good description:  layers of chicken, eggs and crushed almonds encased in phyllo pastry, all topped with cinnamon and powdered sugar.  It might sound weird with the savory and sweet – but trust me, it is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat!

After dinner, Maiken and I chose to wonder around the souqs and do some shopping.  The souq markets are an open air market where you can find just about anything you need, and you can haggle for prices for anything.  They have fabrics, toys, shoes, perfumes, spices, pashminas, candy, tea sets, and just about anything you can imagine! After browsing the shops, we decided to end our night with Baskin Robbins ice cream – also located in the souq.  (It is connected to the Dunkin Donuts).

The next night, Dave and I, along with our friends Dale and Alex returned to the souqs to browse some more. There is a beautiful shop that sells handmade sailboats that Dave really loved.  Then we found a shop that sells Pakistani silk rugs, and they were gorgeous! These are definitely rugs that you do not put on the floor! (Of course the pictures below do not really do them justice, but it gives you a good idea). I have no doubt that we will own a few of these rugs before we end our time in Doha! (We plan on going back and buy them in a group, in the hopes of negotiating a deal with the shop owner!)

Alex is a design teacher at CMU-Q, and an amazing photographer! Thanks for letting me share your pictures Alex! For more of his pictures of the souq (and other sights around Doha), check out Alex’s flickr account:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/arwcheek1/

This carpet was my absolute favorite. The colors were extraordinary! (He is folding it in half to show the quality of the rug and silk).

This was a silk/wool combination, so a little cheaper, but just as gorgeous!

This was was called Four Seasons, it is beautiful! (In the background, he is showing us how easy it is to fold it up and get it in our suitcases!) He was quite persuasive, but not pushy at all 🙂