Souk al-Hibal, an early Islamic structure in which some sections could be dated from the 12th or the 13th centuries, is composed of 57 shops and is connected to the eastern section of the Souk al-Khaish and the Souk al-Hour. Most of the vaults are from the beginning of the Ottoman period, and the western section has been rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century. Some sections have been covered by vaults in the 1980’s. Through the Souk al-Haddadeen, and along the Great Mosque to which the souk is adjacent, most of the customers or tenants of shops used this section of the Souk al-Hibal, as the main access to al-Mdineh (Central Souk). Most of the merchants used to sell ropes.
Documentation, damage assessment and studies were performed by in house-local staff of AKTC at the end of 2021. Project implementation with a length of 83 meters including 57 shops was undertaken from November 2021 to September 2022.
A successful participative process, key to the long-term sustainability of the project involved local authorities, represented by the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums, the Directorate of the Old City, as the Committee of the souk, representing shop owners and tenants, permanently associated throughout the project. To be noted is the close coordination with the restoration of the Great Mosque, as the rear wall of the northern shops is the southern or Qibla wall of the prayer hall of the mosque.
The souk is 83 meters in length containing 57 shops Alley 192m² and alley plus shops 483 m²