DOHA, Qatar — The Souq Waqif, Doha's ancient marketplace, unspools from the nearby bay like a roll of precious fabric. A medieval maze of narrow alleyways linked to a wide main plaza, the Souq has long served as a trading post for Bedouin arriving by camel and travelers in small boats.
But today, as one of the city's last surviving historic urban spaces, the Souq also serves the rapidly modernizing emirate as a link to a history and a culture that is fading. Nowhere is that clash of past and present more apparent than at the market's falcon hospital, a state-of-the-art medical facility dedicated to caring for animals that have been revered here for centuries.
"In Qatar, falcons are a symbol of dignity, valor and pride," said Dr. Ikdam M. Alkarkhi, the hospital's Iraqi-educated director and veterinary consultant. "For Arabs, falconry was a way of life where every household, irrespective of their social or tribal status, enjoyed the presence of falcons around them. Falcons would be considered part of the family."
