This has a good smell. It's flower oil.
This size is only 50 Riyals.
So you are an expensive store yeah? (laughs)
Yes, it's perfume and perfume is expensive.
Hi welcome, in this video we're going to explore
shopping in Riyadh.
What are the best souvenirs to bring back from Saudi Arabia?
Let's check it out.
This market is gigantic!
It's already evening here
but it's still quite animated
What is it? - It's Oud,
some kind of tree.
If you burn it, it smells
Okay smells good!
Oh, you are selling burners too - yes!
Does it work with charcoal? Yes, it does.
One pack contains 10 pieces.
And much is the charcoal? - 5 Riyals.
And how much is this one? - 125 Riyals.
125 Riyals? - Yes, but these are not too expensive.
They are 35 Riyals.
Ok, but it shows. These are not as nice as the other ones. Do you agree?
Oh it's heavy! - Not too heavy.
It's wood? - Yes, it's wooden.
[Music]
How much is one of these?
- 120 and 150 Riyal
The whole box for 250 Riyal?
That's nice!
What material is it? it's metal? - Steel.
It's made here in Saudi Arabia? - Yes.
And how do you call this?
This is a Bisht - And it includes the Oud as well and the burner.
[Music]
it's very nice!
250 Riyals the box.
so here there's the Antiquity corner of the market.
You can find lots of older items. Quite curious what's
on display here
[Music]
We have the pure Oud. We have the pure perfumes
or the liquid bath perfumes.
We have the tradition of the Saudi people
who put some just to smell the Oud.
Mmmh, that smells good! Oh you put it on like this.
You like that.
After maybe two or three hours your body ...
- Okay I have it underneath my sweater now...
Okay and after two or three hours ...
Yeah, the whole body adopts the smell.
You see now, it's like the bubbles
this is the Oud.
The oil of the wood that dissolves.
It's natural, this is what you smell now.
- So it's not actually the wood that smells.
It's the oil in the wood.
- Yes, because if you see this one now ...
It's the wood, okay, but if you see
the black things inside
this is the Oud.
So this comes from Indonesia?
this is for example from Indonesia, yes.
This is their oil. You know, Saudi Arabia has oil.
And Indonesia has oil. (laughs)
- That's their oil, that's their version of petrol, okay. (laughs)
Would you like to drink tea?
- Oh yeah, I'd love to, yeah, thank you.
I will show you something here.
These were our taxis 50 years ago.
Former taxis.
[Prayer]
Yeah, this is a good size.
Okay give me two or three.
Let me see another one.
You know this one is healthier than a tooth brush.
The normal ones come from factories
But that's just for business. This is what the Prophet Muhammad said:
It's healthy for your mouth and your body.
It's healthy and if you try to use it
for example for one month everyday
you will see the difference. It's better then the toothbrushes
from the companies.
Okay, this is a gift from me.
Oh, thank you so much! Thank you!
This is for you and your family.
-Oh, thank you so much!
What a nice experience!
So the prayer time is over. This was the time of the evening prayer
and people are returning to the markets
and I'm coming with them
[Music]
Lots of incense. How much is the Saffron?
Like a box is 50 Riyals? And this one is 55 Riyals.
There's different qualities? - Yes, but this one is good.
Because I feel this one for 50 Riyals.
So 50 Riyals, that what?
That's about $13.
Yeah, Saffron is expensive but you don't need much
to put in a meal right?
Yes, you only need a little bit.
- Where does it come from? - The saffron comes from Spain.
And Iran. Okay, so this is from Iran.
The Iranian is good quality. The Spanish is also good but too expensive.
How much is this? - This is 25 Riyals.
And this is also 25 Riyals. It is strong and long-lasting.
So this is the small one.
And it's 25 Riyals and the medium one is 50 Riyals.
The larger one is 100 Riyals. If you want
I can give it to you for 90 Riyals, no problem.
Thank you so much, "shukran"!
Thank you.
So typical products you can get here ...
are definitely sandals. There's lots of sandals,
incense and Oud, as well as perfumes.
So whenever you walk through this mall
there's lots of smells.
One Bisht costs 200 Riyals.
There all the same? No, they can be more expensive too.
just talk okay beautiful
So that's 7,000 Riyals!
He just showed me a Bisht
for US$1,900 (7,000 Riyals)
I told him I'm not a VIP and he just laughed.
Those coats are quite expensive!
[Music]
how much are these? - 450 Riyals.
So these are a little bit less expensive.
what makes the difference in the prices?
is it the quality?
Yes, it's the different quality of the material.
how much is that big sword? - 550 Riyals.
So this big sword ("Saif") we just saw
are for traditional sword dances.
They're for ceremonial purposes
and the ones that are here cost about US$150 for one.
So these are already a bit more pricey
than the ones that we saw earlier
[Music]
So you can get whole stuffed animals here...
That's the real deal!
How much is this? - 2,700 Riyals.
So our friend here is 2,700 Riyals which is about US$720.
So for $720
this beautiful big animal is yours...
And this is a lion?
How much is the lion? - 3,700 Riyals.
It's real? - Yes
oh yeah, there's a baby lion underneath.
Okay, thank you!
Shukran
[Music]
...Antiquities.
[Music]
How much is an old coffee pot? - 300-400 Riyals.
How old are they? - 60 to 70 years old.
Sixty-seven years old.
So 300 Riyals is about $75. They're very beautiful.
So, like in so many other places here
you don't see a lot of tourists around here.
This seems to be
really a market that caters to the local population.
So this is still part of the Souq al-Zal area
and even though it's now quite late
in the evening
I must say it's a very safe place.
You don't have to worry about safety issues
here in this area.
Even though it's quite late at night it's super safe.
I never felt in any way threatened or harassed.
People were super friendly and, wherever I went,
they offered me tea or water, cookies.
This was clearly a display of Saudi hospitality
at its best!
[Music]
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