Souq (Market)

Souq (Market) — connector documentation

• MCP endpoint: https://souq.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: POST https://souq.connectorbay.com/v1/tools/{tool_name}, described by the OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://souq.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Transport: Streamable HTTP, stateless, MCP specification 2025-06-18 or later
• Authentication: none required. An optional Authorization: Bearer <key> raises rate limits.
• Health: https://souq.connectorbay.com/health · Tool schemas: https://souq.connectorbay.com/tools.json
• Publisher: Unify Dynamics LLC · connectorbay.com/souq · agent@connectorbay.com

What Souq (Market) is for

The question that comes up whenever a traditional Arab marketplace enters a conversation — what is a souq, what's actually sold in a gold souq versus a spice souq, is haggling actually customary or just a myth, how do you ask "how much" and say "too expensive" — answered from one hand-curated, respectful reference, without a stale travel-guide listing of a specific business's current prices.

What it does

A generic profile of one traditional souq category — typical goods, common layout, and a few signature features, described typologically rather than as a listing of any specific real, currently-operating market — covering gold, spice, textile, fish, livestock (historical), copper/metalwork, and perfume/incense souqs (souq_type_info); the customary back-and-forth of bargaining (haggling) — when it's expected versus when prices are fixed, the general process from opening price to settling or parting ways, starting-offer and walking-away conventions, and a few practical tips, framed throughout as a legitimate, long-practiced commercial custom rather than a stereotype (bargaining_etiquette_guide); a handful of well-attested transliterated Arabic marketplace phrases — a greeting, asking the price, "too expensive," a final-price phrase, and thank you (common_phrases_guide); how gold is traditionally sold — by weight and karat, plus the separate "making charge" for workmanship, with an explicit note that gold's price fluctuates daily and no current price is ever stated (gold_souq_reference); the goods commonly found in a spice souq and a textile souq, each cross-referencing the Matbakh (Cuisine) and Malabis (Attire) connectors for deeper culinary or garment detail rather than duplicating it (spice_souq_reference, textile_souq_reference); the souq's historical role in trade and urban life and general architecture patterns — covered alleys, the khan/caravanserai concept (historical_context_info); a glossary of souq terms — souq, khan, wikala, qaysariyya, dallal, samsar, sarraf, attar, mithqal, ratl, bakhoor, hisba, caravanserai (souq_glossary); and a keyword search across all of it (search).

What it is not

Not a travel directory and not a live pricing source. Every souq type is described generically — "a gold souq typically..." — never as a specific real, currently-operating market with a current address, hours, or prices, because that kind of claim goes stale and would be unverifiable here. No gold price, or any other price, is ever stated as current: gold's underlying price is set by the international spot market and changes daily, so this reference explains how pricing works (by weight, karat, and a separate making charge) without ever naming a figure. Bargaining is presented as a legitimate, respected commercial custom rooted in direct, personal trade — never as an exoticized trope, a spectacle, or a claim about how "everyone" in a region behaves. Fully local, zero upstream calls, nothing stored.

Tools

Souq types & etiquette

souq_type_info — A generic profile of one traditional souq category -- typical goods sold, common layout, and a few signature features -- described typologically ("a gold souq typically...") rather than as a listing of any specific real, currently-operating market. Covers gold, spice, textile, fish, livestock (historical), copper/metalwork, and perfume/incense souqs. Use for "tell me about a gold souq", "what's a spice souq like", "what is a livestock souq". Args: type.

bargaining_etiquette_guide — The customary back-and-forth of bargaining (haggling) in a traditional souq: when it's expected versus when prices are fixed (independent stalls vs. marked-price shops, supermarkets and malls), the general process from opening price to settling or parting ways, starting-offer and walking-away conventions, and a few practical tips -- framed respectfully throughout as a legitimate, long-practiced commercial custom, not a stereotype. Use for "how does haggling work in a souq", "is bargaining rude", "how do I start negotiating a price".

common_phrases_guide — A handful of well-attested, commonly used transliterated Arabic marketplace phrases -- a greeting, a seller's welcome, asking the price, saying something is too expensive, asking for a final price, agreeing to a deal, declining politely, and thank you -- each with its transliteration, Arabic script, and a short usage note. Use for "how do you say 'how much' in Arabic", "what's 'too expensive' in Arabic", "phrases for bargaining in a souq".

Goods reference

gold_souq_reference — How gold is traditionally sold in a souq: pricing by weight and karat, the common karats and their typical uses, the separate "making charge" for workmanship (the part that is usually negotiable), and purity-mark hallmarks to look for. Explicitly does not, and never should be read to, state a current gold price -- gold's underlying price is set by the international spot market and fluctuates daily. Use for "how is gold priced in a souq", "what's a making charge", "what karat is Gulf gold jewelry".

spice_souq_reference — The spices, herbs and related goods commonly found in a traditional spice souq (cumin, cardamom, saffron, sumac, za'atar, dried lime, incense and more), at the level of what's typically sold there. For how these ingredients are actually used in specific dishes, cross-references the Matbakh (Cuisine) connector's ingredient_info and dish_info tools. Use for "what's sold in a spice souq", "what is loomi".

textile_souq_reference — The fabrics and traditional garments commonly found in a textile souq (cotton, silk, wool, thobe and abaya fabric, keffiyeh cloth, embroidery materials), at the level of what's typically sold there. For garment-specific detail -- cuts, regional styles, embroidery meaning -- cross-references the Malabis (Attire) connector's garment_info and fabric_and_craft_info tools. Use for "what fabric is sold in a textile souq", "where would I buy keffiyeh cloth".

History & terms

historical_context_info — The souq's historical role in trade and urban life, and general architecture patterns -- covered or vaulted alleys, craft-by-street organization, and the khan/caravanserai concept of combined trade-and- lodging buildings for traveling merchants. Optionally filter to one topic (trade, urban_life, architecture, evolution/today). Use for "why were souqs important historically", "what is a khan", "how are souqs laid out architecturally". Args: topic.

souq_glossary — Definitions of souq-related terms: souq/souk, khan, wikala, qaysariyya (covered arcade), dallal (auctioneer/crier), samsar (broker), sarraf (money-changer), attar (perfumer), mithqal and ratl (traditional weight units), bakhoor (incense), hisba (historical market oversight), and caravanserai. Use for "what does khan mean", "what is a dallal", "what's a qaysariyya". Args: term.

Search

search — Keyword search across every souq type, marketplace phrase, glossary term, and reference section (gold, spice, textile, bargaining etiquette, historical context) in this connector. Use for "find anything about incense", "search for making charge". Args: query.

Conventions

• Read-only. Every tool reads public data or computes; nothing is written anywhere and nothing about the user is stored.
• Result envelope. ok: true with data, or ok: false with a structured error (bad_input, not_found, upstream_error). degraded lists optional sources that were unreachable.
• Rate limits. Free tier 60 tool calls/minute and 300/day per user (keyed on the user identifier supplied by the host agent, else client IP); Pro keys raise this. Over-limit calls return HTTP 429 with Retry-After. initialize and tools/list are never counted.

Support

agent@connectorbay.com · connectorbay.com/souq/support

Souq (Market) — Privacy Policy

Effective 24 September 2026. Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us"), Menlo Park, California.

What Souq (Market) is. Souq (Market) is a connector (an MCP server and REST API) that AI assistants and personal agents call on your behalf for a hand-curated reference to traditional Arab souq (marketplace) culture: souq-type profiles, the bargaining custom, common marketplace phrases, a gold-souq pricing primer, historical context, and a glossary. You interact with your assistant; the assistant sends us only the arguments needed for that one lookup.

What we receive. The arguments of each tool call — a souq type, a search query, a historical-context topic, or a glossary term — the technical headers needed to serve the request (an IP address or a client identifier supplied by the assistant, and a Pro API key if you have one), and standard server logs.

Everything is answered from a bundled, hand-curated reference file and nothing is stored. No request is forwarded to any third party — there is no upstream call at all, live or otherwise — and no query is logged in request bodies, recorded, or used to train anything.

What we do not receive or store. We do not receive your conversation with the assistant or your name, and we do not build a profile from your queries: each request is answered independently and nothing carries over between requests. Rate-limit counters (a client identifier and timestamps) are held in memory for at most 24 hours. Hosting-provider access logs, which contain IP addresses and request paths but not request bodies, are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Sub-processors. None — the entire dataset is bundled with the server and answered locally. Hosting: Vercel (United States regions).

Legal bases and your rights. Our processing is necessary to provide the service you request through your assistant. Because we store no personal data beyond short-lived logs, requests to access, correct or delete personal data are usually satisfied automatically; you can still contact agent@connectorbay.com and we will respond within 30 days. We do not sell or share personal information and do not use your data to train models.

Children. Souq (Market) is a general-audience service operated by the adult using the assistant.

Changes. We will post changes here with a new effective date.

Souq (Market) — Terms of Service

Effective 24 September 2026. These terms govern use of the Souq (Market) connector ("the Service") operated by Unify Dynamics LLC ("we", "us").

1. The Service. Souq (Market) returns a hand-curated reference to traditional Arab souq (marketplace) culture — generic souq-type profiles, the bargaining/haggling custom, common transliterated marketplace phrases, a gold-souq pricing primer, historical/architectural context, and a glossary — from data curated and verified as of the build date stated in its own data. It is accessed through an AI assistant or directly over MCP or HTTP.
2. A typological reference, not a travel directory or a live pricing source. Souq (Market) is an independent reference tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by any government, institution, business, or market. Souq types are described generically and never as a specific real, currently-operating market; no gold price or any other price is ever stated as current, since such prices change daily and are outside the scope of this Service.
3. Bargaining is a custom, not a guarantee. The bargaining etiquette described is a commonly practiced custom in traditional stalls and independent shops, not a claim about any specific seller's willingness to negotiate, and fixed-price retail exists throughout the same markets and region.
4. Acceptable use. Automated use within the published rate limits is welcome.
5. Availability. The Service is provided "as is" without warranty. We may change, limit or discontinue it at any time.
6. Data. Our Privacy Policy describes what we process. In short: your query is answered from a bundled reference file, and nothing is stored.
7. Pro keys. Optional Pro API keys are issued at our discretion, are personal to the holder and may be revoked for abuse.
8. Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Unify Dynamics LLC is not liable for any loss arising from use of or reliance on the Service. Our total liability is limited to US $100.
9. Governing law. California law; venue in San Mateo County, California.
10. Contact. Unify Dynamics LLC · agent@connectorbay.com · https://connectorbay.com/souq

Souq (Market) support

Email agent@connectorbay.com. We answer within two business days.

• MCP endpoint: https://souq.connectorbay.com/mcp
• REST API: https://souq.connectorbay.com/openapi.json
• Live status: https://souq.connectorbay.com/health

When you report a problem, include the question you asked your agent, roughly when, and which agent you used (for example Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini). Never send us passwords, account numbers or ID numbers. Souq (Market) never asks for them.