Let’s talk about one of my favorite things in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia - the Bazaar!
Start here - Imagine your local farmer’s market.
Now combine that with what you think the market would be like in Agrabah from Alladin.
Scale it up 100x.
Add the all-encompassing inventory part Buy-n-Large from Wall-e but import everything from China.
Also add the maze-like size and scope of Costco from the movie Idiocracy.
Lastly, throw it all in shipping containers.
You now have a bazaar!
Do you need to buy fresh produce? Bazaar!
Do you need to by a kitchen knife or blender? Bazaar!
Fake Jordans and other faux couture? Bazaar!
Do you want to buy locally butchered meat that has been sitting outside for most of the day? Bazaar?1
Anytime I ask one of my coworkers where we can buy something, they say go to the Bazaar. But here is where this gets really interesting in Bishkek - there isn’t one bazar but many, and they specialize! There is one that only sells industrial construction equipment, one that only sells textiles, some mini-bazars and then there is there are the big ones that make Seattle’s Pike place market look like a corner 7-11.
The largest one in central Asia is the Dordoi Bazaar and it is located north of Bishkek. I’ve only been there once, and I was awestruck the entire time I was there. I’m going to leverage AI here and give you some facts about this particular Bazar:
Key Facts:
Size: Estimates range from 1.0 to 1.3 square miles (2.6 to 3.4 square kilometers), depending on whether you count surrounding auxiliary markets.
Stalls: Over 40,000 containers/stalls.
Main Goods: Chinese and Turkish imports (clothes, shoes, electronics), with major wholesale activity for resale across Central Asia, Russia, and beyond.
Structure: Built mostly from stacked shipping containers.
If you're comparing it globally, it's roughly the size of 400+ football fields and larger than many Western-style shopping malls by floor area.
It is huge. This is a picture of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan and the city that we currently call home. If you look at this picture you can actually see the bazar. Please take a moment and see if you can see it2:
Adding spacing to hide the answer…
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Did you find it? It looks exactly as I told you to imagine it in your head. Ok, now here is where it is located in the map. No joke, the bulk of the area in the yellow circle is the bazar.
The thing that I couldn’t take my eye off of was the triple stacked shipping containers acting as store fronts. You walk into one of the areas that sells industrial goods, and this is what you see.3
Unfortunately, the one and only time I visited the big bazar was when I need some supplies for work and we were in such a rush I was unable to take more pictures. I also feel rude taking pictures of other people, so the ones I have here will have to do it justice. But just know we were able to buy backpack sprayers, gloves, foliar fertilizer chemicals, a universal mini-split remote, cardamom, and apples all at one place.
I would say that one of my favorite things in Kyrgyzstan is just exploring these bazaars and looking for treasure. In a place that once was the heart of the silk road, I am glad that the cultural central point of selling wares at a local market still exists. It is something you really have to see to believe. The bazaars are lively, busy and for a foreigner very easy to get lost in. There appears to be no rhyme or reason in how the shops are organized, but there are sections and for the most part they keep food in the same place.
To get a feel of it, here is a video my wife took when entered Osh Bazaar (second largest bazaar in Bishkek).
Here are some of my favorite finds:
The section that sells shoes and only shoes.
Another part that sells a variety of different spices. I didn’t need to bring seasonings from America to get the flavors there, I just buy the individual components and make mixes here. Plus, there are several spices I’ve never played with before.
The section sells Kurut balls. These are dried yogurt cheese ball things that are everywhere. My Kyrgyz friends and coworkers love them. Our family, not so much. They taste like concentrated salt, but they are apparently very good sources of protein.
Just the randomness of it all is something to behold.
You don’t need Home Depot or Lowe’s, just venture out to Alemedin Bazaar and get all of your garden and fertilizer needs.
Lastly, probably my favorite part of the bazaar is the fresh produce. It is interesting to see the produce change as different commodities come into season. We’ve seen strawberries come and go and now honeydew melons are making an appearance. Living here is adjusting to buying produce that is in season.
At first, we were nervous to go with the whole family to the bazaar because they are such mazes we were nervous we’d go in with 7 people and leave with 5 or 6. We’re more comfortable now and our family has had fun exploring and wandering around. Well maybe the parents have more than the kids. The kids somehow always manage to find the fake chinese lego sets and toy vendors.
Wanna know the rest? Hey buy the rights.
I still haven’t been emotionally able to do this. After spending a significant amount of time working in food safety it changes you…
Ignore the heart icons, I pulled this from google maps and those are the locations of our house and my work.
Quick side note, I hope I am never ever ever in Kyrgyzstan during an earthquake.
Amazing places! And I'm glad all seven of you came out of the bazaar.