Souk

Souk is the weekend party at the end of a week long ‘Islamic Awareness Week’ taking place this week at The Globe Theatre on Bankside. The word ‘souk’ means ‘market’ or ‘bazaar’; the one in Marrakech is a labyrinth of fabrics, spices and hands trying to drag you in their stall. The Globe souk, on Saturday 27th November and Sunday 28th, between 10am and 6.30pm, will have “contemporary arts which draw inspiration from Islamic traditions. Visitors will be able to see how work is produced and buy from the stallholders.”

Unlike Marrakech, this souk will probably not have anyone offering sweaty tourists “herbal viagra for the men and woman, every night, yes” or snake-charmers coming at you with bloody big pythons shouting “photograph!”

I still miss the place.

The Globe will also have storytellers from the Khayaal Theatre Company telling tales from all over the Muslim world that celebrate the connection between the market-place and story telling. Of a more serious bent are the lectures taking place over each day, including subjects such as: “The Concept of the Hereafter in Islam”, “Islamic Calligraphy”, “Art and Alchemy” and “Music and Geometry”. You can find the whole program here.

The whole event is free to attend, which makes it worth stepping in just to see the inside of The Globe.