Chorsu Bazaar

Chorsu Bazaar is the oldest and most atmospheric market in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, standing at the junction of Beruniy Street and Navoi Street in the Old City (Eski Shahar) of the Shaykhontohur District. Its centrepiece is a huge blue-green domed hall, a Soviet-era landmark that houses meat, dairy and spice counters under one roof, while open-air rows around it sell fruit, nuts, dried apricots, bread, sweets and household goods. The name Chorsu means crossroads, a reminder that traders have gathered here for centuries. Visitors see pyramids of pomegranates and melons in season, stalls of freshly baked non (the round, stamped Uzbek bread), dried fruit sold by weight, and butchers carving cuts beneath hanging carcasses. The surrounding lanes mix with workshops, a knife and copperware section and small tea houses where plov and samsa are sold from steaming cauldrons and tandoors. A typical visit takes 1.5 to 2 hours, and the best time to come is early morning, roughly 07:00 to 10:00, when stalls are freshly stocked and crowds are light. By midday the aisles fill with shoppers and the heat inside the dome builds in summer. The Chorsu metro station on the Chilonzor line sits beside the market, and Kukeldash Madrasa is a short walk away, so the two are often combined. For photographs, the upper gallery around the dome offers a view down over the produce stalls, and the colourful spice and dried fruit displays reward a slow walk. Vendors are generally friendly, will offer small tastes and expect polite bargaining on non-food items, while food prices are usually marked. Visitors should carry small notes in Uzbek som, watch belongings in the busiest aisles and ask before photographing people at close range. Entry is free, and snacks typically cost 5,000 to 30,000 UZS. The market is a good place to try a first plov or fresh-baked samsa and to buy dried fruit and nuts as gifts.