The Arabic Bazaar

What a gem of a place! I was looking to buy espresso cups for my mother as a Christmas gift and was at a loss until I stopped here. They had the most beautiful hand-​painted (tiny) Turkish coffee cups that she was so delighted to receive. The only downside was that I was told I had to buy them as a set of 6 when I really only needed 2, so it turned into a pricey gift. The shop owner is lovely though, and the items here are stunningly beautiful and unique. So glad I was able to stop by here.

In a word, disappointing. With such a wonderful selection of jewelry, furniture, music, etc., how can this be you ask? Your staff member is the reason. She casually shows up at 11:45am today, and walks past me to open up (opening time is 11:30am). No greeting, no apology. Once inside she immediately got on her phone. It wasn’t until I took out my phone to snap a pic of her that she quickly put it down and began to «work» (and I use that word loosely as she was merely looking under display tables to give the appearance of doing something). As soon a I bade her good day and opened the door to leave, guess what? She got right back on her phone. Zein, you should know that your employee is not at all representing your business in a good light. The result is that you have just lost my business.

Wow, I walked in, sort of knew what I wanted, but not really, and the owner was so helpful in figuring out good costume options for me. I’m plus-​size, and she was so nice and helpful in telling me what would work best. I picked out a skirt, jingly bra top that you wear over a top or tank, a gorgeous hip wrap and a pice of foot jewelry. I’m so happy. I really wasn’t sure if she would have things in my size. I will go here first next time I need costuming. She also has beautiful items for the home, but I was focused on what I came there for.

I love this place! Such a great variety of goods from Egypt, Syria, and Morocco. BEAUTIFUL jewelry, art, furniture, home goods, and belly dancing skirts, costumes, shoes, etc. Yes, things are a little pricey, but the owner, Zein, has frequent sales and specials.
Zein is an incredible woman – immensely talented as a singer, belly dancer, and belly dance instructor… and she makes fabulous coffee! =) Her classes are so much fun! She teaches isolated muscle movements and helps you integrate them fluidly with the music. There’s no pressure on beginners either. She teaches proper posture and to develop an ear for the beat – as long as you maintain those principles you won’t feel/​look like a total spaz as you try to shimmy. =) The mood is class is always fun, relaxed, but intense enough that you break a sweat.
I HIGHLY recommend checking out this place if you’ve never been. It’s a gem in this great city!

Austin’s must-​go-​to place for all things middle-​eastern!
Hand-​crafted jewelry makes up much of the store’s front, where you’ll also find Zein – the store’s owner, and talented singer/​songwriter and dancer. Authentic costumes rich in colors and textures can also be found in the front room, as well as in the larger, back room where belly dancing classes are often held.
Beautifully intricate glassware, dishes, and furniture round out the store’s merchandise. If nothing else, somedays I’ll drop by to talk with Zein and enjoy her stories of the middle-​east while she offers me a fresh cookie and cup of coffee. This place is amazing!

I love this place! I enjoy taking classes and learning from this lovely woman about her culture and the feminine art of belly dance. It enhances my life in a spiritual, physical, as well as emotional way.
The fact that she is a strict with the drills and exercise really enable me to internalize the movements.
I am a huge fan and encourage anyone considering belly dance to check her out!

I decided to buy a gift hookah locally instead of going online where there is a better selection for half the price. The owner «helped» me find a hookah as I explained to her how I wanted to make sure all the seals were good and that the piece was of quality.
She «threw in for free» some old dried out shisha, a pair of used tongs, as I told her how much I loved the store and that I was happy to see she was still in business.
Got it home and tried it out and none of the seals matched and noticed the hose was falling apart. Went back for replacement seals the next day, but the ones her clerk gave me were also incorrect. Third time they closed early and nobody was there to exchange them, so there goes an hour and half of my day in traffic. On the fourth try I decided I simply wanted to return it and buy online, but when the owner asked if it had been used I decided not to lie and said, yes, we tried it once, and she refused to take it back or give store credit.
Spent 15 angry minutes with her while she dug through boxes of parts and pieced together a working hookah for me, while explaining that she wished she could blame her clerk for the mistake.
Wish she would have just been strait with me the first time around. Really shady. Hate to write a bad review, but I would have been happy with store credit, and my own honesty got me absolutely nowhere. Guess I should have lied.

I have been meaning to write about this place for some time now but did not want to rush and miss something.
First of all, the owner is Brilliant! She is nice, smart, and really into culture. Just one conversation with her and you will be able to conclude the same thing.
We went on a Saturday afternoon a few months ago and ended up buying some cool things for 15% off. I love the jewelry and the detail!
The strong Arabic coffee and baklava were just an extra added bonus for what we were in store for that day.
We watched a belly dancer and she was excellent. There was a seven year old girl that the dancer stopped her show for to dance with and that kid was so excited! It sounds cheesy but it was a really fun great time.
When I used to watch «I Dream of Jeannie» I always wondered what was inside the bottle and when I walked into this incredible store, it looked like what I hoped was in that bottle!
Please go to this store. Give it a chance. I know there are some not very favorable reviews going on here, but just check it out sometime!
We learned things, watched a great show, and had great conversation all in this one place.

So I was on my way to flightpath when i was suckered in by the jewel toned hookahs in the window. Ooooh pretty colors! Don’t be fooled… this place is HUGE. Well at least much bigger than it looks from the outside. Inside its a conglomeration of everything you would actually find at a bazaar — jewelry, lanterns, dishes, boxes, scarves, shoes, dance outfits, flowing garments, and of course, belly dance classes. Wait what?
Yes, not only are there a million visual gems to feast on, they actually have belly dance classes that happen in the back room for ladies of all ages. After speaking with the owner, it seems like she’s on a one woman crusade to honor her Arabic heritage. Not only does she put on Arabian Nights (8 years running), but also puts on big shows with a band, mini bazaar, and bites.
In the end, the name «bazaar» always conjures in my mind a little of the bargain bazaar of my youth, with purse knockoffs and cheap silver. Now it will evoke in a brightly colored shop, jingling bangles, elaborate lighting, bejeweled costumes — essentially a shop full of the mystery and beauty of the Arab world.

So I have this thing for Belly Dancing… or belly dancers, whatever it may be. I just love it. I recently took a Belly Dancing class at the Arabic Bazaar and loved it. It was a beginners class and it kicked my hiney! I thought I had the whole shimmy thing down but I was WRONG! The class was awesome and I cant wait to go again. The store is also great… tons of cool stuff and it’s pretty affordable too.

best teacher, best music, best classes of Belly dance!!!

Arabic Bazaar– It’s fun to spend a half hour or so looking through the beautiful things in the shop. It’s so cramped in there and everything is so pricey that I’m scared to break something and have to buy it. So, no bulky clothes or purses/​bags for me in here. I also love spending some time trying on the really expensive belly dance components in the little back storage room they have. I could never justify spending any money here, but they do sell Roman shisha which is my favorite. This portion of the shop gets 2 stars from me.
& Beyond– I took a few of her belly dance classes and it’s so high energy, so fun, and so welcoming. There are ladies of many ages and sizes… my only huge qualm is that they really should limit the class to a sign up. When I pay $ 13−15/class and arrive early I don’t think it’s fair to all her students to cramp us in there where we barely have room to fully enjoy the class. I would come back if I was assured that there would be ample room to stretch out your arms. I love the class (5 star) hate that there is no limit (–1star) so that’s a 4 star.
Average of 2 star + 4 star= 3 star

The store has some cool stuff, though the markup is considerable. For belly dance supplies, better to look online.
I studied belly dance with Zein for several years. Her classes are fun and fast-​paced, she’s especially good for beginners who don’t want to be intimidated and want a fun workout. Her classes are all «drop in» format, which means you don’t have to sign up for a series. She sells class cards, much like YogaYoga. For convenience and location, she can’t be beat. I also often recommend her to beginning students who want to get their feet wet and decide if belly dance is for them.
On the con side, she hawks her wares (belly dance belts) to her students, and all coin belts have a tendency to shed beads and coins. So if you’re dancing barefoot, you’re going to step on one in her studio. Ow. She also starts late sometimes, and will spend more time than is necessary talking, sometimes disparagingly about other teachers in town. She also actively discourages her students from studying elsewhere, which is a shame, since Austin has many wonderful dance teachers. When I was studying, she did not teach zills (finger cymbals) or veil, which are pretty standard components of American belly dance.
I recommend Zein’s classes for beginners, and those who want to get an authentic sense of how people dance socially in the middle east. But for the more avid belly dancer or advanced student I recommend trying several of the other teachers in town as well, particularly Z-​Helene at ACC, Stacy at Tapestry, Melissa at Diva Dance, and Bahaia at Body Business.

I found the perfect necklace for someone here, so it has a special place in my heart. There was low to no pressure from the friendly staff. Huge range in price and style of jewelry. My favorites use antique beads.
The clothing is unique; like Logan says, it is fun to browse.

I came to this store for a Christmas bazaar and to look for a necklace as a present. The Arabic Bazaar has alot of interesting (but pricey) jewelry, belly dancing clothing and perfumey oils. Everything is on the pricey end. We stayed to see the show (they had a free belly dance show for the Xmas bazaar event.) I was annoyed because the show was supposed to start at 2, but we waited and waited and waaaaited. After asking like 4 times when the show was going to start it finally did (after 2:30) and it was OK, but I wasn’t too impressed. All in all, this place is all right for specialty items, but I prolly wont go back again.

An interesting little specialty shop in the middle of an interesting little shopping center. It’s filled with all sorts of Arabic items ranging from incense to clothing to hookahs. They also teach belly dancing classes several times a week. I don’t purchase much here aside from sheesha for my hookah, but it is a lot of fun to wander around and browse. If you are looking for a unique gift or want to learn belly dancing, this is definitely a place to check out.