Chorsu Bazaar

So after viewing a centuries old copy of the Koran on deer skin and watching the kite runners at the plaza in front of the Mosque and Madrasah we headed to our next stop- the market!

The Chorsu Bazaar is the traditional bazaar located in the center of the old town of Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan. Under its blue-colored domed building and the adjacent areas, all daily necessities are sold.  Chorsu Bazaar is located across the street from Chorsu Station of the Tashkent Metro, near Kukeldosh Madrasah. "Chorsu" is a word from the Persian language, meaning "crossroads" or "four streams".

Here us what the Lonely Planet guide says about the market-
"Tashkent’s most famous farmers market, topped by a giant green dome, is a delightful slice of city life spilling into the streets off Old Town’s southern edge. If it grows and it’s edible, it’s here. There are acres of spices arranged in brightly coloured mountains; Volkswagen-sized sacks of grain; entire sheds dedicated to candy, dairy products and bread; interminable rows of freshly slaughtered livestock; and – of course – scores of pomegranates, melons, persimmons, huge mutant tomatoes and whatever fruits are in season. Souvenir hunters will find kurpacha (colourful sitting mattresses), skull caps, chapan (traditional cloaks) and knives here."

and here is what we saw- most of the photos need little narrative so just take your own trip around the bazaar and I will fill in if I think you might need some tidbit of info-

first aisle the Korean kimchi style dishes of the Koryosaram... the displaced Koreans from the Stalin era...

 dairy- cottage cheese - cream cheese - sour cream

 noodles-

 then the meat market - with horse meat and plenty of lamb and parts we mostly don't use in the US-

 below - sheep's tongue (didn't look like these were flying out of here so maybe this isn't a delicacy...)

then we moved to another area of the market where produce and spices were being sold...

  rice and lentils (below and above)

 baked sweets-

 honey that Caroline tasted and seemed to like---

 the bread area where the carts carried home made breads to the market for sale-

clothing section for fancy and everyday wear- 

bridal outfits - new brides are expected to have a new outfit for each of seven days and they buy the whole magillah are one swoop like the set shown below-

ikat prints are very big around this area-

and yet another section of bread strollers LOL

Then we were headed back to the hotel for our dinner- which was very nice but I have only a photo of the salad and the dessert - which were both very good so I think the rest of the meal must have been as well- oh yes- now I remember it was perch! we didn't have too much fish on the trip- so that one actually was pretty memorable even without the photo---

the dessert - was excellent despite looking like a rice krispie treat- it was fried noodles with honey and a raspberry sauce- called Chak Chak

I took this photo of the hotel hall way on the way down to dinner - I noticed the pattern and then later saw the lights were slightly tinted making for a fairly cool photo...

 so our next day would bring a meal at a top restaurant with hand pulled noodle lessons and then more touring around the city before our flight to Urgench in the far west of Uzbekistan where we will begin our travels with Khiva a city that is basically an open air museum... but I am getting ahead- look for the noodle lessons and some great food for lunch... in the upcoming post... stay tuned!