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
Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) is an American learned society, dedicated to promoting research and teaching in Middle Eastern and African studies, and related fields. It was founded on October 24, 2007 by Bernard Lewis (Princeton University) and Fouad Ajami (Hoover Institution) as a rival to the learned society Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) as it was regarded to have become "dominated by academics who have been critical of Israel and of America's role in the Middle East." ASMEA states