Souq level of municipal administration. The Muhtasib was responsible for supervising business practices and collecting taxes for a given souq while the Arif are the overseers for a specific trade. Shopping at a souq or market place is part of daily life throughout much of the Middle East. Prices are commonly set by bargaining, also known as haggling, between buyers and sellers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as Europeans began to conquer parts of North Africa and the Levant, an interest in Middle Eastern culture and architecture began to flourish. This interest spawned a genre of literary works and paintings
Al-Hamidiyah Souq Al-Hamidiyah Souq Al-Hamidiyah Souq () is the largest and the central souk in Syria, located inside the old walled city of Damascus next to the Citadel. The souq is about long and wide, and is covered by a tall metal arch. The souq starts at Al-Thawra street and ends at the Umayyad Mosque plaza, and the ancient Roman Temple of Jupiter stands 40 feet tall in its entrance. The souq dates back to the Ottoman era, being built along the axis of the Roman route to the Temple of Jupiter around 1780 during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid I,