Abu Dhabi authorities have completed designs of what would be one of the most unique market places in the region when the present shabby souq in the heart of the capital is replaced with a modern but oriental museum-like bazaar.
Spread over an area of nearly three million square metres, the new souq will start taking shape in early 2004 after the existing gutted market is demolished and consigned to oblivion after serving the public for more than 30 years.
Nearly six weeks after a massive fire devoured 87 of its shops, the old souq is now suffering from another disaster as mountains of garbage and ash are still lying inside the gutted area, giving rise to insects and emitting strong bad smells in most parts of the souq.
Municipality officials said they were aware of the environmental threat caused by that mess covering more than 1,000 square meters, but added they were awaiting approval by police investigating the six-hour fire that was initially blamed on an electrical short circuit.
Sketches provided by the municipality showed the new bazaar would be built on the same spot that has housed the old market which has long resisted change and maintained its historical, cultural and geographical character through Abu Dhabi's development process.
Cutting across the city centre's two main streets of Hamdan and Khalifa, the new marketplace would be linked by a tunnel instead of the present pedestrian bridge. The tunnel would adjoin vast underground car parks and lifts leading up to the shops.
"The new project has been instructed by President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan," an Abu Dhabi municipality report said.
"It is supported by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The instructions stress that the new souq must be built on the same area in a way that it preserves the spirit of the country's culture, heritage and history which characterised the old market."
Shop owners in the sprawling souq, mostly from India, Pakistan and Iran, have already started preparations to quit their shops before the end of the year in line with notices served by the municipality in 2002. The twin markets, including the old and the new souqs that adjoin each other, will both be demolished separately within a three-month period.
As is the case with the existing souq, the new market will consist of one or two storey buildings housing nearly 250 shops. But unlike separate villas in the old souq, most of the new shops will be connected and will be lined up on spacious alleys and covered by classical arcades reminiscent of the old Arabian bazaars in Baghdad and Damascus.
"Technical and executive arrangements for implementing this major project are under way," the municipality said. "It will indeed be like a museum and will represent an architectural masterpiece that will reflect the heritage and culture of the UAE."
Besides the shops, the new souq would have two major parks housing more than 1,200 cars, green areas, main squares, mosques, recreational facilities, restaurants, public toilets, services and other facilities for both shop owners and customers. Some shops will also be built underground along the tunnel that will link the twin souqs.
"The project will be launched in early 2004 and it includes two phases. Advanced facilities will be introduced, including fire resistant materials to minimise fires and other accidents. It will be an open souq like the existing one. All shops must be vacated before the end of this year and demolition will last only a few weeks," the report said.
Over the past few years, modern shopping malls have mushroomed in Abu Dhabi but all of them are closed, Western-style marketplaces in sharp contrast with the open souq.
Once the main shopping centre in the capital, the souq has stood testimony to numerous stages of change and development in the capital since early 1960s.
But such changes have not affected its charm and it remained the most attractive place for shoppers seeking a variety of cheap items ranging from perfume, incense, clothes, and foodstuffs, to electronics, carpets, home appliances and watches.
"The souq has grown up with Abu Dhabi but in a different direction," said Abdullah Mansour, a jewellery shop owner. "Abu Dhabi was developing and getting younger but the souq was getting older. It is sad to see it demolished but I think it is time for it to go."
When the municipality's bulldozers rumble towards the souq to raze its collapsing structures, they will also be erasing a cultural and heritage edifice that once was called the nucleus of the emirate's merchandise and its throbbing commercial heart.
But shop owners and Abu Dhabi residents will never forget the place. For those owners, it represented a turning point in their lives and provided them with their livelihood for all those years, cementing a relationship that was more than a mere business.
For the people, the souq is associated with old memories of their first arrival in Abu Dhabi and the start of a new life away from their home countries. But both sides appear to accept the fact that time has come for that souq to leave and give way to another younger one. But deep inside, they realise they will never forget it.
Last month's fire was as if destiny strangely wanted to keep the memory of the souq ablaze in people's minds before it is physically uprooted.
And it is not only the fire. What it has caused is still lying there, the charred shop walls, the smouldering material, piles of ash and mountains of garbage.
As time goes on, the smell is getting worse and more overpowering and mushrooming insects enjoy a safe breeding haven away from the municipality's fatal pesticides.
"We can understand that they will demolish the souq and build a new one," said an angry Asian shop owner inside the gutted area. "But what about this mess? Can you smell it? It is becoming worse every day. If they are waiting to remove all this garbage when they start demolition work, then it will be a real environmental catastrophe."
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