Souq Waqif

Souq Waqif is Doha's traditional market in the Al Souq district of central Doha, about 400 metres from the Corniche, with lanes of spice, perfume and textile shops, a falcon souq, restaurants and boutique hotels. Entry is free and the lanes are always open, so it suits first-time visitors, shoppers and anyone looking for dinner in an old-style setting.

Why is it called the standing market?

Souq Waqif means the standing market, after traders who sold their goods on their feet beside Wadi Musheireb, a dry stream bed that could flood. The market grew up there more than a century ago as a meeting point where Bedouin and townspeople traded livestock and goods.

Trade declined in the boom years of the 1990s, and in 2003 a fire destroyed most of the old market. A government restoration ran from 2006 to 2008. Buildings put up after the 1950s were demolished, older structures were refurbished, and the market was rebuilt with traditional materials such as mud, wood and bamboo in the style of a historic Gulf souq.

Spices, perfume oils and the falcon souq

The lanes are loosely grouped by trade. Shops sell spices, dried fruit, incense, perfume oils, textiles, traditional clothing, gold jewellery, handicrafts and souvenirs, and there is an animal and bird market. In the falcon souq, shops sell falcons and equipment such as hoods, perches and GPS trackers; visitors can watch the trade and, with supervision, hold a bird. Next to it, the Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital, opened in 2008, treats large numbers of falcons every day.

Qatari food, shisha cafés and boutique hotels

Restaurants serve Qatari, Levantine, Iranian and other cuisines, and cafés and shisha cafés line the main walkways, where street performers appear in the evenings. A group of restored historic buildings operates as the Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels, among them the Bismillah, described as one of the oldest hotels in Doha.

Al Rayyan Theatre and the souq's setting

The souq also has a performance venue, the 980-seat Al Rayyan Theatre, and its spring festival around April brings theatre, acrobatics and music. The original buildings are examples of late 19th and early 20th century Qatari architecture. The souq once stood closer to the sea: land reclaimed for the Corniche in the late 1950s and early 1960s moved the coastline about 335 metres north. Visitor numbers peaked during the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Animal welfare groups have campaigned about conditions in the pet stalls.