Popular souqs: who buys and who comes to look?
The old markets are still standing, but their customers have changed. What does it mean for a souq to become a destination?
Series
From the Field
8 pieces in this series
Field notebook: three days in a popular souq
A monthly column written by a researcher from the field — this time from the alleys of a souq whose arrangement has not changed in decades.
Arabic coffee: a social ritual that outlasts its era
The small cup of Arabic coffee condenses every value of hospitality, generosity and tribal belonging. A study of daily ritual in Saudi life.
The majlis: social engineering before it is a room
Who sits at the head? And who by the door? Seating in the majlis is a map of relations drawn on the floor.
The ardah: the body when it becomes a collective
Two rows, a drum and a poet. What happens socially when a hundred men move to a single rhythm?
The aflaj: engineering water before the pump
How did people divide scarce water fairly for centuries, with no central authority to impose the share?
Pearl diving: a trade that vanished and a memory that stayed
Before oil, pearls were the entire economy of the eastern coast. What remains of a trade that ended within a single generation?
Traditional dress between identity and performance
The thobe and the ghutrah are not merely clothing. They are a daily performance of identity that declares belonging and negotiates presence in Saudi social space.
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