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
Souk El Blat Souk El Blat Souk El Blat () is one of the souks of the medina of Tunis, specialized in medicinal plants. Souk El Blat is located at the heart of the medina of Tunis. It can be accessed from the south from the Al-Zaytuna Mosque by walking through Souk El Kachachine, or from the Dyers Street. Souk El Blat includes several notable monuments, including: There is no clear consensus as to when the souk was first established. Some say that it was founded in the 9th century under the Aghlabids, an Arab dynasty that ruled significant portions of North Africa.