Opposite Souq Nasser Bin Saif is Doha Souq, which houses several tailors, fabric stores and shops selling Middle Eastern-style ladies clothing, perfumes and accessories.
Gold Souq
Dozens of tiny jewellery shops lining the small road behind Al Ahmed Street make up the Gold Souq, with two small alleyways running through the main block. These stores sell imported gold brooches, bangles and necklaces as well as locally made bridal jewellery and precious stones. You will be welcome to try anything on, and the salesman will often bring something from a nearby shop for you if they don't have the exact item you are looking for. Windows are crammed full of gold, most of which is 22 carat. All gold sold in Qatar is tested and hallmarked in the country, so you are guaranteed a genuine product.
In traditional Gulf jewellery, glass is sometimes used as a decoration rather than precious stones, but the jeweller will always tell you what the stones are. One or two shops in this area sell silver jewellery; there are also workshops in the internal alleyways where you can have repairs done or items made to your own design.
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Souq Al Ahmad
An attractive grey and white marble building on the right hand side of Grand Hamad Street as you head up from the Corniche, the air-conditioned Souq Ahmad has two levels.
The lower level has a large perfume store together with outlets for clothing, accessories, linen, electrical and house hold goods. There are a number of ladies tailors who specialize in bridal and evening wear with intricate bead work. A shop specializing in natural honey has its entrance on the outside of the building at the end closest to the Corniche. Ladies and gents cloakrooms are on the ground floor -something worth knowing - particularly if you are out shopping with small children.
Upstairs there are a number of shops selling ready-made clothing for men, women and children; shoes and accessories; and children's toys. It is also home to one of Doha's best cycling equipment store, stocking imported bikes, skateboards, roller blades and even power kites.
Souq Al Asiery
This souq houses mostly textile stores but also has a few outlets for clothing, luggage, shoes and accessories. There is a vast selection of inexpensive fabric available here - everything from cotton to lace, and suitable for day or evening wear. You'll find summer and winter weights, stretch fabrics, natural and man-made fibres. Fabric starts at as little as QR3 per metre.
Souq Al Deira
This is the place to go for exclusive beaded fabrics, heavy lace, or any "designer" fabrics. Souq Al Deira also has a number of shoe, perfume and accessories stores. This is another souq, which has cloakroom facilities. The building is clearly identifiable from the outside by its huge arches, "lantern" style lights and attractive stained glass windows.
Souq Al Jabor
Facing you at the end of Al Ahmed Street is Souq Al Jabor, which has entrances on Al Jabr Street and Jabr Bin Mohammed Street. A selection of stores includes footwear, baby wear, clothing, lingerie, luggage, toys, perfume, gifts, audiocassettes and CDs.
Souq Faleh
Go across Grand Hamad Street at the lights outside Souq Al Ahmad onto Al Ahmed Street. This road is lined by a number of named souqs, plus many individual stores, some of which only stock items at QR 5 or QR 10. (Look out around town for the numerous QR2 or QR3 outlets where you can buy anything from an umbrella to a teapot for that price!)
Souq Nasser Bin Saif
Next to Souq Faleh is Souq Nasser Bin Saif, which has several stores selling electrical goods, CDs and audiotapes as well as clothing and children toys. Different in architectural style to the other buildings on the road, it has external as well as internal staircases.
Souq Waqif
The most traditional of the souqs, it is a maze of alleyways covering a wide area, with separate sections selling perfumes and traditional forms of Qatari national dress, luggage, tools, general hardware and gardening equipment; tents and camping equipment; kitchenware, spices, incense, sweets, rice, nuts, and dried fruits.
The perfume vendors sell everything from exclusive international brands to mixture of essential oils blended especially for you. Often their wares spill out onto the alleyways, sometimes from little lockup shops, which are no more than large cupboards in the wall. Alongside the perfumes are piles of different grades of oudh, the sweet-smelling agar wood burnt as a sign of hospitality and bokhur, the mixed fibrous balls of oudh, white musk, sandalwood oil, ambergris, mystica and rose oil. You can also buy ceramic, wood or brass incense burners.
The spice traders, all grouped together in Souq Waqif, give their part of the souq a unique atmosphere, with the colorful whole and ground spices displayed in boxes, sacks and huge tubs. You buy them by weight, and if you take an empty glass or plastic container, the traders will fill it for you with stripes of the different ground spices to make an unusual jar of mixed spice.
Scattered on the edges of Souq Waqif are several shops selling traditionally styled coffee pots, incense burners, hand woven items and brass-studded wooden chests of all sizes - suitable as anything from jewellery boxes to blanket chests.
