The Fish Market and "Axis of Evil" alley
I was looking around for a hookah (aka shisha/hubble bubble) and one of the sales person at the Sharjah Souk(aka the Gold Souk) told us that I could get a better deal at the Irani (Iranian?) market.
It's not in the big tall building. It's just a series of shops on the side down below next to the parking lot. Nothing too glamourous here. This is Sharjah, the city/state neighbouring Dubai. Nothing exciting ever happens here. These guys don't have the tall building stuff going for them. Everyone goes to Dubai for a good time. But I digress.
This market is basically a series of shops on the side of the street opposite the Sharjah creek where the boats load their cargo.
It's not really an alley, I know. But "Axis of Evil " market sounds too verbose and doesnt realy roll off the tongue as well.
Mum went into action again of course and proceeded to make the lives of the agha’s (“agha” is how the Irani refer to their elders in farsi) miserable.
It was interesting to see mum pull this off. I think she probably gets away with it because shes a woman and the guys here are just more patient in general with women. She tries everything from "this looks cheap", "I got a better deal at the store next door", "he'll probably throw it away after using it once" to "it's too hot in this store", "I'm old and tired, don't give me a hard time","I used all my change at the parking meter".
You get the idea.
Haggling is a way of life here. They expect it and if you pay the first quoted price, you’ve been officially ripped off. Only tourists pay the full price. We must have shaved off at least 30 bucks from the original price in about 15 min.
Needless to say, we got a pretty good deal on the hookah, the fruit-flavoured tobacco and the coal for the hookah.
Since we were close to the fish market, we decided to stop there for some king fish. I have yet to see an open-air fish market in US where the fish is so fresh; it’s still breathing (My apologies to any vegetarians out there). You pick the fish and they slice it up for you as you like it. Nothing wakes you up like the “scent” of an open-air fish market. It’s like getting slapped in the face…with a wet trout.
OK, I think I' really done with shopping this time.
Really...
No more...
It's not in the big tall building. It's just a series of shops on the side down below next to the parking lot. Nothing too glamourous here. This is Sharjah, the city/state neighbouring Dubai. Nothing exciting ever happens here. These guys don't have the tall building stuff going for them. Everyone goes to Dubai for a good time. But I digress.
This market is basically a series of shops on the side of the street opposite the Sharjah creek where the boats load their cargo.
It's not really an alley, I know. But "Axis of Evil " market sounds too verbose and doesnt realy roll off the tongue as well.
Mum went into action again of course and proceeded to make the lives of the agha’s (“agha” is how the Irani refer to their elders in farsi) miserable.
It was interesting to see mum pull this off. I think she probably gets away with it because shes a woman and the guys here are just more patient in general with women. She tries everything from "this looks cheap", "I got a better deal at the store next door", "he'll probably throw it away after using it once" to "it's too hot in this store", "I'm old and tired, don't give me a hard time","I used all my change at the parking meter".
You get the idea.
Haggling is a way of life here. They expect it and if you pay the first quoted price, you’ve been officially ripped off. Only tourists pay the full price. We must have shaved off at least 30 bucks from the original price in about 15 min.
Needless to say, we got a pretty good deal on the hookah, the fruit-flavoured tobacco and the coal for the hookah.
Since we were close to the fish market, we decided to stop there for some king fish. I have yet to see an open-air fish market in US where the fish is so fresh; it’s still breathing (My apologies to any vegetarians out there). You pick the fish and they slice it up for you as you like it. Nothing wakes you up like the “scent” of an open-air fish market. It’s like getting slapped in the face…with a wet trout.
OK, I think I' really done with shopping this time.
Really...
No more...
posted by Bilal at 1:24 PM
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