Business at Souq Waqif is thriving over the past few weeks as people have been picking up traditional gifts to take along when traveling abroad. The summer vacation has begun, and with that, many nationals and residents look for gifts to take with them abroad over the holiday. Souq Waqif has been a haven for shoppers looking for inexpensive traditional novelty items to take with them when travelling. Some of the most prominent items being collects by residents are the women abayas, bokhour (Arabic incense), spices and nuts. The Peninsula took a tour of the crowded Souq and asked shoppers what their purchases were. “I come to Souq Waqif to buy perfumes because they have a wide variety of traditional Arabic perfumes (Oud), which my friends back home love” said Kate Leden from Holland. “Oud is a very rare product, which is hard to find anywhere else in the world, and if was available it would be very expensive, so I stock up Oud before I travel so I could hand it as gifts for family and friends” added Leden. Naoko Amaya from Japan said “I like to buy traditional women’s clothing from all different parts of the world. So I was delighted to find many shops at Souq Waqif because they have a much wider variety of Abaya’s, and their prices are much less than Abaya’s sold in shops at the different mall outlets” Fahad Al Ansari from Qatar said “I always buy Thob cloths for friends and family in Saudi Arabia” adding “They always ask me to bring with me fine quality cloths because the quality of the cloths I find here are some of the best in the Gulf” http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=July2009&file=Local_News2009071564856.xml

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