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Souk El-Hamidiyeh, Damascus
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Things to Do in Damascus: Souk El-Hamidiyeh tips and photos posted by real travelers and Damascus locals.
Souk El-Hamidiyeh
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Souk El-Hamidiyeh: Who will buy?
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  • Light twinkles like stars through the bullet holes in the iron roof of the Hamidiyeh Souq, and the lamps lining the wide passage give the whole place a glow. Below is a seething, heaving mass of people - local women shopping for everyday items, girls pointing at elaborate wedding dresses, carpet and curio salesman trying to lure tourists in to their shops, men with stuffed hawks sitting on their wrist, boys selling the flourescent-lit tubes and other knick-knacks you see all over the world, families heading for the icecream parlours. Druze women in their delicate white muslin veils, old men in traditional dishdashas and checked keffiyehs, young girls in jeans and their mothers in hijab. On and on it goes, until finally you come out into the sunshine of the newly smartened-up square in front of the Omayyed Mosque. Come back again after 6 and all is shuttered and closed. A few last people are drifting around but that is all. Now is the time to see just how big the souq is before you too take yourself off to your evening pursuits. Before it closes for the day, stop at the icecream parlour (the second one down) for a mastic icecream covered in chopped pistachios. I'm not all that fond of it, MrL loves it - you need to try it though, it's a favourite Damascus treat.

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: souq al-hamidiyya
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  • I always look for and appreciate local markets, but the ones I love more are definitly arab souks, I never found anywhere else so much variety of colours, smells, tastes. This the most important souk in Damascus and it is definitly a must see, I could have spent the day there simply tasting their icecreams, their sweats, wandering through shops and watching the life go on.

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  • Address: old town

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: Souq al Hamadiyyeh
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  • This bazaar is very busy and crowded all of the time. There are pushy merchants of course here and in all bazaars, but I found the pressure much less here than in Cairo for example where the merchants are very pushy and pratically follow you and plead with you to visit their shop....so I found it much easier to navigate through this bazaar....it was very crowded, people everywhere, but the merchants didnt really bother you much.

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: souk
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  • From the most important thing to do in Damascus is visiting the coverd bazar (alhamedya souk ) it,s really wonderfull and you can see there many local things and gifts , hand made textiles and bnoxes .

  • Address: alhamedya area
  • Directions: It,s open from 9 am until 8 pm and the friday is holiday

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: Souq Al-Hamidiyeh
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  • Roman arches mark the entrance of the Souq - Damascus
    Roman arches mark the entrance
    of the Souq
    by xristos83, 1 more photos
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    This souq is gigantic and crazy! I personally did not like it as the souq in Aleppo was much better and relaxed (it put me in the buying mood). This souq is nice for people watching though, but as far as shopping goes I though there was too much junk to sift through in order to find anything. The Al-Tekiyeh Al-Sulaymaniyeh Mosque is a MUCH nicer place to buy gifts as the merchandise is higher quality.

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: The Souq
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  • Many visitors enter the souq and the Old City via Souq al-Hamadiyya, which goes from the west to the Umayyad Mosque. It is the main street of the covered bazaar, a wide street with several souvenir shops. South of the Umayyad Mosque you will find narrower streets and a density of goods for sale. Take your time to walk around on back streets and to look in to courtyards of khans, madrasas, mosques and hammams.

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: The Souk
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  • Temple of Jupiter through the Souk-Damascus-Syria - Damascus
    Temple of Jupiter through the
    Souk-Damascus-Syria
    by Groverdean
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    I really enjoyed this Souk in particular there is an ice-cream merchant here that sells the most devine ice-cream on the planet. Naturally it is vanilla in flavour, beaten, and whipped manually all day (makes a BIG difference, and then he dips it in ground up pistachio nuts! Yes I did have more than 1!

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  • Directions: In the Old City Walls

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: souq al-hamidiyya
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  • bracelets at the souq al-hamidiyya - Damascus
    bracelets at the souq
    al-hamidiyya
    by call_me_rhia
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    The souq! This is the posh and covered part of the damascus souq! It's "ceiling" is very high and shaped as a vault, shops here are two storey high, which I believe is quite a rarity. Most of the shops - though very nice to look at - are generally speaking quite tourist-oriented. They do sell some really nice things - and it's worth to look out for the dresses here: a mix between western and syrian style; which is something that one might still want to wear once home. As for all the other items - tablecloths especially - it's possibly to find cheaper ones just around the corner, in the rest of the souq. In case I gave you a dab impression: thissouq is spectacular: not for buying but for window-shopping. At night, when it's lit up and the shops are closed, it's really something else

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  • Address: souq al-hamidiyya
  • Directions: next to the citadel. or else at he end of sharia choukri al-kuwatli

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: Souq al-Hamidiyeh
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  • It dates back to 1863, to the rule of the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid, after whom the souq was called. It is covered with high iron vaulting, so old that sun rays filter through it into the darkness of the souq. The shops here sell everything from tissues to leather-work, from sweets and ice-cream to exquisite handmade brocades, mosaic, and copper inlaid with silver

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  • Address: Damascus, the old town
  • Directions: Follows a straight line from the west(where Bab al-Nasr used to be) to the Omayyad Mosque.

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    Souk El-Hamidiyeh: Souks of Damascus
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  • Since ancient times, Damascus has been known as a commercial centre due to its strategic position at the end of the southern caravan routes traversing through Arabia and Africa. As a result, it developed a large market (called "souk") which has become the focus of daily Damascene life. The souk is in fact divided into several adjacent souks, each sometimes specialising in a different product (silk, spices, etc.), though over time, this feature became less pronounced. The most famous is called Souk Al-Hamidiyya, which runs just south of the Citadel from the western city wall to the Roman Propylaea and the Omayyad Mosque. Others include Souk al-Bzouriya (spices, nuts), Souk al-Harir (silk), Souk Midhat Pacha, and Souk al-Attarin (perfumes). These souks tend to be covered to shelter shoppers from summer heat. When visiting Damascus, you must allow yourself at least a day to wander through the souks and discover intriguing merchandise. The friendly shopkeepers are usually delighted to offer you tea. For more photos, click on the travelogue: Souks of Damascus.


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