souks
Moroccan covered marketplaces
Souks are traditional marketplaces in Arab cities, typically consisting of covered streets or alleyways lined with small shops and stalls.
Vendors sell everything from spices and textiles to jewelry and handicrafts.
The word evokes the sensory experience of crowded lanes, haggling, and exotic goods: We spent the afternoon wandering the souks of Marrakech.
Aromatic food flavorings
- carpetsTextile floor coverings
- textilesWoven or knit materials
- leatherTanned animal skin
- potteryFired clay objects
ceramics · lanterns · jewelry · incense · silks · tapestries · embroidery · handicrafts
Those who sell goods
- merchantsThose who conduct commerce
- artisansSkilled manual workers
- shopkeepersRetail establishment proprietors
- craftsmenSkilled manual trade workers
traders · middlemen · wholesalers · apprentices · guilds · transactions · goods · wares
Historic Arab city core
- alleywaysNarrow urban passages
- labyrinthIntricate passage network
- stallsDelays or compartments
- windingCurving repeatedly, sinuous
kasbah · covered · narrow · archways · courtyards · passageways · corridors · canopied
Energetic noisy activity
- crowdsAssembled multitudes
- hagglingNegotiating a lower price
- aromasAgreeable distinctive odors
- colorsVisual spectrum variations
sounds · calls · chatter · exotic · vibrant · sensory · cacophony · hustle
Northwest African kingdom
- MarrakechMoroccan imperial city
- TunisiaNorth African republic
- CairoEgyptian capital city
- DamascusSyrian seat of government
Aleppo · Istanbul · Dubai · Muscat · Jerusalem · Casablanca · Baghdad · Maghreb
Favorable purchase price
- negotiateDiscuss to reach agreement
- barterDirect goods-for-goods exchange
- counterofferAlternative terms proposed back
- discountReduced price offered
price · deal · bid · fixed-price · walkaway · calculator · handshake · commission
spices
Aromatic food flavorings
pottery · ceramics · lanterns · jewelry · incense · silks · tapestries · embroidery · handicrafts · pashminas
vendors
Those who sell goods
- merchantsThose who conduct commerce
- artisansSkilled manual workers
- shopkeepersRetail establishment proprietors
craftsmen · traders · middlemen · wholesalers · apprentices · guilds · transactions · goods · wares · inventory
medina
Historic Arab city core
winding · kasbah · covered · narrow · archways · courtyards · passageways · corridors · canopied · shadowed
bustle
Energetic noisy activity
colors · sounds · calls · chatter · exotic · vibrant · sensory · cacophony · hustle · overwhelming
Morocco
Northwest African kingdom
Damascus · Aleppo · Istanbul · Dubai · Muscat · Jerusalem · Casablanca · Baghdad · Maghreb · Berber
bargain
Favorable purchase price
- negotiateDiscuss to reach agreement
- barterDirect goods-for-goods exchange
- counterofferAlternative terms proposed back
discount · price · deal · bid · fixed-price · walkaway · calculator · handshake · commission · guides
- Essaouiramedina, ramparts, fishing port, trade winds, argan oil
- marketsmarket, marketplace, stock market, bazaar, flea market
- Middle EastIraq, Baghdad, Cairo, Iran, Jordan
- Middle Easternbazaar, bazaars, minarets, domes, arches
- ArabiaSaudi Arabia, Mecca, Medina, Kaaba, Riyadh
- North AfricaMorocco, Algeria, Marrakech, Tripoli, Tunis
souksshopping malls
Large enclosed retail centers
malls · megamalls · big-box stores · department stores · superstores
souksbazaars
Busy outdoor trading areas
mercados · agoras · flea markets · farmers markets · high streets