By Anand Holla
Name: Mohammad Abdul Rehman
Nationality: Indian
Shop location: Nafootith al Ahbab, Inside Street, Souq Waqif
What do you sell?
We sell all kinds of traditional Arab dresses and accessories. Most pertain to the Arab male clothing and headgear such as gutrah (head scarf, which could be plain white, checkered red and white, or checkered black and white), agal (a black band secured tightly around the gutrah to keep it in place), ghafiyah (similar to prayer cap, it is worn under the ghutrah).
What are your shop’s specialties?
Our wide range of Arab headgear accessories has been our strongpoint. Moreover, this shop has been running here for 40 years. So we have a lot of loyal customers. Every once in a while, some youngster comes by, saying he remembers coming here many moons ago, holding his father’s hand. Even when the Souq was renovated, this shop remained as it was.
Where do you source your goods from?
We import them from Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Dubai, Turkey and India. We also source them from some wholesale dealers in Qatar who import some material from Dubai.
How do you try and set yourself apart from other shops?
We stock both medium quality and high quality items so that we can cater to as many kinds of customers as possible. Our guthras range from QR15 to QR120, while the prayer caps come from QR5 to QR15. Now with the onset of winter, we also sell cosy shawls that come from Kashmir in India.
Do you face any kind of problems running this shop?
None whatsoever.
Who are your customers?
Obviously Arabs from all over. However, Qataris and visitors from Saudi Arabia form the bulk of our customers.
What is the best thing about Souq Waqif?
I have been living in Qatar for 30 years, and have been working at this shop for nearly a decade. Though they renovated the façade of Souq Waqif, they still managed to make it look like an old traditional market that this was before. I like how the spirit of the Souq continues to live on.