Chorsu Bazaar

Chorsu Bazaar is the best-known market in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and has served the Old City (Eski Shahar) for centuries as the main place where residents buy food and household goods. It sits at the junction of Navoi Street and Beruniy Street in the Shaykhontohur District, and is easy to recognise by its large blue-green domed central hall, which houses meat, dairy and some produce stalls. Around the dome, open-air rows and covered galleries sell spices, dried fruit, nuts, rice, bread, sweets, ceramics, textiles and kitchenware. The goods are mostly aimed at local shoppers rather than tourists, so the ratio of genuine everyday products to souvenir trinkets is high, though a few stalls and a craft section sell ceramics, knives, skullcaps (doppi) and fabrics for visitors. Prices are negotiable at most stalls, and polite bargaining is expected, particularly for non-food items; food is often priced by weight and tasting before buying is normal. Cash in Uzbek som is the main payment method, and small notes are useful because many vendors do not carry much change. Card terminals appear at some larger stalls, but they should not be relied on. No tax-refund scheme operates at individual market stalls. The market is busiest in the morning and is loud, crowded and full of smells, with bread sellers baking flatbread (non) and vendors arranging pyramids of dried apricots, raisins and walnuts. Must-visit corners include the spice and dried-fruit aisles, the bread section with its decorated round loaves, and the upper galleries from which the layout of the stalls can be seen. Small eateries and tea sellers around the bazaar serve plov, samsa and shashlik, so a meal can be combined with a visit. Visitors should keep bags closed and phones secure in tight crowds. Photographing stalls is usually fine if the vendor is asked first.