Unspecified/General

On the western shore of the Khalid Lagoon in the heart of downtown Sharjah, the Central Souq (also widely known as the Blue Souk) is the largest traditional market in the United Arab Emirates and one of the most architecturally distinctive market buildings in the broader Gulf region. The dramatic 80,000-square-metre, two-storey market opened in 1979 to a design by the British architectural firm Halcrow, occupying a substantial purpose-built complex that has served continuously as the principal traditional retail market of the broader Sharjah region for more than four decades. The building's defining architectural feature is the dramatic exterior cladding of more than 20,000 individual blue-glazed ceramic tiles, which give the market its widely used Blue Souk nickname. The intricate Islamic geometric patterns of the blue tiles cover essentially the entire exterior facade of the two long parallel market wings, with the dramatic 10 wind-tower-style structures rising at regular intervals along the rooflines of both wings serving as both decorative architectural features and functional ventilation chimneys for the interior market spaces. The building's overall plan organises some 600 individual retail shops across two long parallel wings connected by four short central transverse galleries. The ground floor houses the more traditional retail shops, with the upper floor housing the larger jewellery and carpet shops that benefit from the additional ceiling height and the slightly more upmarket clientele. The retail mix is distinctively organised by product category, with broadly similar shops clustered in adjacent sections of the building. The ground floor's southern wing is dominated by traditional Arabian gift items including small souvenirs, fragrances, traditional Arabic clothing and small leather goods. The ground floor's northern wing is dominated by the substantial textile and fabric retailers, with several dozen shops specialising in traditional silk, embroidered table linens and ready-made and bespoke traditional Arabic clothing. The upper floor's long northern gallery houses the most heavily concentrated jewellery retail in the entire United Arab Emirates outside the Dubai Gold Souk, with several dozen specialised gold, silver and gemstone retailers. The upper floor's southern gallery is dominated by the substantial carpet retailers, with several dozen shops specialising in traditional Persian, Afghan, Pakistani and Turkish hand-knotted carpets. The market operates seven days a week with extended evening hours.

Type: Market / Mall

Address: King Faisal Road, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Telephone: 06-573-9999

Website: sharjahmydestination.ae/explore/explore-things-to-do/the-blue-souk

Opening Date: 01/01/1979