Souq Souq A souq or souk (, "shuq", "shuka", Spanish: zoco, also spelled shuk, shooq, soq, esouk, succ, suk, sooq, suq, soek) is a marketplace or commercial quarter in Western Asian, North African and some Horn African cities () . The term "souq" goes by many alternatives in different parts of the world; in the Balkans, the term "bedesten" is used; in Malta the terms "suq" and sometimes "monti" are used for a marketplace; and in northern Morocco, the Spanish corruption "socco" is often used. The equivalent Persian term is "bazaar". In general a souq is synonymous with a bazaar or
American democracy promotion in the Middle East and North Africa design and fund programs (according to donor country interests and local needs) that are often carried out by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in coordination with local and international groups. Although the definition of the "Middle East" is contested among international relations scholars, some have concluded that it encompasses an Arab core with a non-Arab periphery including Israel, Iran and Turkey. While others argue that the Arab states of North Africa "are better seen as their own, separate, regional system," the term "Middle East and North Africa" is used predominantly in American, international, and United Nations DG development literature to refer