Ibra Ladies Souk
Ibra Ladies Souk
3.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
3.5
26 reviews
Excellent
6
Very good
9
Average
5
Poor
5
Terrible
1
Philip_Bolster
Groningen, The Netherlands884 contributions
Feb. 2020 • Family
This market is held every Wednesday morning by women and mainly visited by women. Never seen so many women in Oman and I can imagine it is a social event for Omani women to go there, but as such not very interesting for tourist, although very colorful.
Written March 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Läjna
27 contributions
Dec. 2018 • Couples
I expected something special there. I thought the women are offering nice stuff and men are not allowed there. In the end there were many men there and most of the shops offered only clothes.
Written December 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoranWembley
United Kingdom4,099 contributions
Jan. 2017 • Friends
We stayed in Ibra and by pure chance got to visit Wednesday's Women Market. It puts into contest what we saw at Muscat International Festival: local and tribal and exciting.
Written July 2, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nasser2015
Ibra, Oman112 contributions
Dec. 2016
It's an open door market that sells many items like food, clothing, household items, plants... etc. It's good to visit and have taste of the lifestyle of the locals.
Written February 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zenu
London2,047 contributions
Mar. 2015 • Solo
We made an excursion to the town of Ibra while staying in the Wahiba Sands. By car the trip into town takes about 2 hours. Ibra is worth a visit to see the 300 year old village of Mutayrib, the Ibra fort and the ladies' market which takes place every Wednesday (no men allowed!!!). However, the men do set up stalls in the periphery of the market and the general atmosphere of a small town life is fascinating to observe. This is away from the tourist beaten track and definitely worth a visit to get an insight into culture, traditions....Furthermore the whole scene is against the backdrop of the dramatic Al Hajar mountains. Ibran folk are welcoming (as everywhere in Oman).
Within the ladies' market there was no pressure to buy, the ladies were happy to engage in conversation and some ladies even allowed photographs (others were happy for their wares to be photographed).
Stalls offered fabrics, dresses, dressmaking materials, henna, honey and much more. I bought a pair of slippers (£10.00) - beautifully made, lovely design and very comfortable to wear. An interesting, gentle stroll observing women in their traditional outfits. Those who wear the face 'mask' are from the Bedouin tribe and the mask indicates marital status (married).
Bathroom facilities are available.
Within the ladies' market there was no pressure to buy, the ladies were happy to engage in conversation and some ladies even allowed photographs (others were happy for their wares to be photographed).
Stalls offered fabrics, dresses, dressmaking materials, henna, honey and much more. I bought a pair of slippers (£10.00) - beautifully made, lovely design and very comfortable to wear. An interesting, gentle stroll observing women in their traditional outfits. Those who wear the face 'mask' are from the Bedouin tribe and the mask indicates marital status (married).
Bathroom facilities are available.
Written April 27, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
barbararitchie
Lisbon, Portugal199 contributions
Feb. 2012 • Couples
Make no mistake--this is a REAL souk and FOR WOMEN ONLY (so send your man off to get a coffee or tell him to wait for you in the car!) Here in this tiny space, at 8 a.m., hoardes of black-clad, beak-masked and henna-handed women women are crammed together jostling each other to buy fabric, sewing accessories (such as strings of gold and sequined "rick-rack"), pairs of gorgeous hand-embroidered "cuffs" to sew onto the legs of "hareem pants", ladies' facemasks, scarves, shawls, brightly-coloured bras, make-up and other "woman's products".
And the ladies are lovely to you--and curious about you-- if you are a foreigner: vendors will try to communicate with you and to "explain" their wares; those nearby who speak a bit of English will step in to try to help translate when you ask what something is, how much it costs, whether what is being asked is the "correct" price and so forth. This is the sort of souk activity which has been engaged in by tribal ladies since time immemorial , and , except for some of the "modern" products now sold here (like the outrageous multi-colour Chinese-made bras and western-made makeup), here is where to buy authentic traditional "ladies' products". Visiting this souk was, for my 28-year-old daughter and myself, the highlight of our trip to Oman! ( I came away with THE most stunning set of ankle cuffs and Daddy survived HIS hour wandering around on the opposite side of the street, apparently none the worse for wear!)
And the ladies are lovely to you--and curious about you-- if you are a foreigner: vendors will try to communicate with you and to "explain" their wares; those nearby who speak a bit of English will step in to try to help translate when you ask what something is, how much it costs, whether what is being asked is the "correct" price and so forth. This is the sort of souk activity which has been engaged in by tribal ladies since time immemorial , and , except for some of the "modern" products now sold here (like the outrageous multi-colour Chinese-made bras and western-made makeup), here is where to buy authentic traditional "ladies' products". Visiting this souk was, for my 28-year-old daughter and myself, the highlight of our trip to Oman! ( I came away with THE most stunning set of ankle cuffs and Daddy survived HIS hour wandering around on the opposite side of the street, apparently none the worse for wear!)
Written March 20, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fabrizio111
Rome196 contributions
Ciao, andrò in Oman ad aprile. vorrei sapere se la visita del mercato delle donne è aperta anche agli uomini o c'è qualche tipo di restrizione. grazie!
patriz16
Sicily, Italy206 contributions
È per tutti tranquilla, non amano farsi fotografare quindi chiedi sempre il permesso prima
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