Where do You Buy Your Dinner? Pictures…

[hast]

We took a tour to the fish market to buy our dinner. Here is the fleet of fishing boats…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket0.png

We were a bit late in the morning, it was already 10 am when we arrived and it was packed with people who wanted seafood… and not only people…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket1.png

We looked at crabs…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket10.png

and more crabs…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket11.png

We were shown some lovely (shudder) octopus too…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket12.png

but we had our sight on fish, so we continued… Maybe red grouper? Or the turquoise parrot fish?

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket5.png

I don’t want any boring Hammour, so let’s continue…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket6.png

The shark looks good…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket3.png

We looked down on the filleting and “deshelling” stations. Boy were they busy…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket2.png

If I had seen this old man earlier we would have eaten parrot fish rather than shark. He looks like he needs to sell some fish…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket9.png

On the way home…

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket15.png

I hope you enjoyed the trip to the fish souk (market place) Especially since there is a BIG sign prohibiting all photography in the entrance. We honestly didn’t see it until we exited… Ooops… but I would have taken the pictures regardless… I politely asked if I could take a picture before I snapped it, except for the fillet stations, so no big deal –I think. Hubby did go around with a frown, mostly because it is very smelly and I was dragging him back and forth –but he didn’t say anything.


HTTY

[Barbwire]

The first picture is my favorite, but all of them were great. I had to laugh that they were selling parrot fish to eat, knowing how highly they are prized here in the states as pets. (very expensive ones at that)

[ErinC]

awesome, thanks!

[CarolU]

Great pictures...love the boats too. I'm with your hubby, I could smell this story JUST seeing the pictures. Youser! :shock:

Yes Barbara, I looked on the Parrot fish kind of sadly. We love seeing them snorkeling and diving...hard to think anyone would kill them and eat them.

You look at that ONE fish market and then in your mind multiply it by the thousands there are all around the world and the millions of people they feed, and you can see why the oceans are running out of fish. Pretty soon all the fish we eat will be raised on farms too. :(

I don't see the human race becoming smart enough to limit their numbers and reduce their impact on the rest of the world. Maybe Mother Nature will take care of it for us...probably.

[hast]

I didn't realize parrotfish is so expensive, or even that they are sold as pets. We have parrot fish in all inmaginative colors... here are some yellow parrot fish too.

http://www.trekronor.net/saudi/Dec-05/fishmarket-small/fishmarket7.png

However, considering the fleet of fishing boats I highly doubt they'll out fish the reefs, at least on this side of the Red Sea. Besides, harbors are few and far between and nowhere do they have more modern boats. They may, however poison the water on this side, but not out fish it...

[hast]

Also, Parrot fish eat the coral reef so here many think it's a good thing to kill them to save the reef. Personally I don't think we're fishing enough to make a difference... at least not along the Arabian coast in the Red Sea...

[PASOFAN]

Fabulous pics hast!! I just love seeing them! That water by the boats sure is polluted! iccckkyyy...

The fish are beautiful..

So what DID you take home for dinner??

[Pasogirlz]

Love the tour. Glad it was minus the smell. ;-)

[hast]

We had shark for dinner :D It's lovely. I steamed it and had in on a salad. :D It was really good.

[PASOFAN]

I have never had shark before!!

Lori: What was the fish I had at that cool place you brought me? That was good, but I cant remember what it was???

[DebbieS]

It must be nice to get fresh fish. Here in the midwest, it doesn't exist. We have good buffalo steaks though!!

Thanks for sharing those great pics!!

[Pasogirlz]

I have never had shark before!!

Lori: What was the fish I had at that cool place you brought me? That was good, but I cant remember what it was???

We had a whole fried snapper at a Peruvian restaurant. ;-)

[Brigitte]

Whoa, that's alot of fish!!

[motorgypsy]

Great pictures!!! I can definitely smell the fish. Soo interesting how different societies eat different things.

I think diving and snorkling kind of ruins you on eating fish though. After we saw the gorgeous dolphin fish, parrot fish, tuna, and all the other gorgeous fish I just sort of lost my interest in fishing and eating fish. I'll still eat catfish though. I don't think they're endangered!!! And shrimp and oysters don't bother me either.

[hast]

My whole family scuba dive, it's one of the most fun things to do here along the Red Sea, but we still love to eat fish. There's no risk of eating all the fish here... Saudis are desert dwellers, not much for the sea at all so considering we're in a city with a population of 5 million this is nothing.
Besides, I wouldn't be more concerned with eating cows or pigs I'd had at home, than fish from the sea ;-)

[motorgypsy]

I couldn't eat my critters either unless I was starving and then I'd probably feel like a cannibal. That poor little carrot just crying out as I unfeelingly yank it out of the ground! Sometimes empathy is a very bad thing! We fished for years and ate them fresh out the ocean so we are spoiled when it comes to seafood. Yummmmmyyyyyy!!! One of the best we ever ate was at a tiny Colombian village on the Pacific accessable only by boat. They'd bring the catch in and you'd pick the one you wanted right then and watch them fry it up ever so lightly dusted in corn meal. Sooooooo fantastic!!!!

Which reminds me - don't order fish at an Ethiopian restaurant. We made that big mistake once. They must have caught it in the Red sea and carried it by camel because it was sooooo over the hill!!! You do wonder why countries so close to a food source wouldn't use it. Maybe because without refrigeration and with that heat it spoiled in ten minutes.