Osh Bazaar

Despite the name, Osh Bazaar is in Bishkek, and it is where the city shops: rows of covered stalls and open lanes selling meat, dairy, dried fruit and nuts by the sack, spices, bread, kurut balls of dried yoghurt, kalpak felt hats, ak-kalpak headwear, knives, harnesses and household goods. The food halls are the strongest part, with butchers, honey sellers and mountains of apricots, walnuts and raisins from the south. It is not a tourist market and prices are low, though foreigners are quoted higher and haggling is normal. The lanes are crowded and disorienting, and it is worth going with a rough idea of what you want. Pickpocketing is the usual risk in the tightest passages.

Background

Osh Bazaar is one of the largest bazaars in Bishkek, on the west side of the city not far from the Western Bus Station; it was created in 1983, at the same time as bazaars in other Kyrgyz cities. Its stalls sell food, almost any everyday household item, clothes, souvenirs and even musical instruments. In the national goods section, Kyyal, meaning fantasy or dream, traders sell Kyrgyz national clothes, which can be ordered in a chosen size or colour, along with carved wooden trunks called sandyk, traditional bedding called toshok, beshik cradles and many other local goods.

Source: Wikipedia, "Osh Bazaar"

The main sights

• Dried fruit and nut stalls - apricots, walnuts and raisins by the sack.
• Felt hats and craft - ak-kalpak and other traditional goods.
• Meat and dairy halls - butchers, kurut and honey sellers.
• Everyday trade - the market the city uses.

When to go

Year round; mornings are freshest and busiest, and stalls thin out by late afternoon. Weekends are heaving. Winter is cold in the open lanes but the covered halls stay busy.

Good to know

It is crowded, muddy in wet weather and disorienting. Pickpocketing happens in the tight lanes, so bags should be watched. Foreign visitors are quoted inflated prices and bargaining is expected. Photography of stallholders needs asking. There is no visitor infrastructure at all.

Nearby

Ala-Too Square lies east; Dordoy Bazaar is on the city's northern edge.

Key facts