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Cyber-Souq: The Arabic Marketplace Online

© Aida Hasan

When I lived in the Middle East, the sooq (the arabic word for marketplace) was a haven of treasures for me. The older looking the sooq was, the more intriguing it was to me. Of course there were the shiny, brand new modern shopping malls with department stores and modern goods and products of the western world. But I liked the more traditional, ancient looking marketplaces that looked like they had been there for so many years, overflowing with the handmade carpets, brass, copper, and wood items, beautiful fabrics all looking like something out of One Thousand and One Nights. Those remote, often cramped, little shops were the best, where the merchant came out of his shop to beckon you inside as if to his home, while holding a tiny glass of tea or coffee, and pointing out his most unique items. Looking back, I wish that I had the eye and interest for Arabic crafts and home decor that I have now. I even miss the sweets, teas and coffee, and other grocery products that somehow don't taste the same with non-Arabic labels on them.

But technology changed things of course. Now there are cyber sooks that, although don't quite match the flavor and feel of a real Arabic sook (especially if you enjoy face to face haggling), nonetheless do give us access to arabic goods we didn't have before. Now, you really don't have to go to the Arab world to find local made goods.

The internet, especially over the past two years, has fast become a vast and exotic marketplace for Arabic ware. Everything from handmade carpets to wooden furniture inlaid with mother of pearl, or glass and ceramic art, copper, and brass home decor, and even bedouin style jewelry. You can find a pretty good selection of traditional arabic clothing from modern Islamic attire to regional and traditional clothing that, prior to, could only be found by visiting a particular country.

Arabic Groceries

There are a number of online stores that sell products like the neighborhood Arabic grocery store would. One good one is Shamra International (http://www.shamra.com/). This store has lots of sections for the different groceries you might be looking for like spices, syrups and molasses, olives, cheeses, meat, and even a section for prepared food that has stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage leaves, and hummous and baba ghannouj among other things. Shamra also sells books, gifts, and music, but their food section is the largest. Another one is Arabianebazaar.com which sells some groceries, although not nearly as much as Shamra.com. Arabiane Bazaar also sells gifts, music, beauty products, and housewares. Two other good and organized sites for groceries is Elfanar.com and IslamicSuperStore.com . Both of them also have a nice gift section. IslamicSuperStore.com is a huge market that sells halal foods, fresh halal groceries and meat products, and contains sections on just about everything you would expect to find in a Middle Eastern grocery store.

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