One of the interesting things about living here is the bazaar. When I was first told they had bazaars here, I imagined old pictures of the middle east with people in turbans haggling for carpets and spices. Actually, they mostly carry fruits and vegetables. There's a bazaar in every neighborhood, but they're only open 1-2 days a week. Our local bazaar is open Thursday evenings and Friday mornings. Before I had class on Friday mornings and Thurs evenings, so I didn't get to the bazaar very often. Recently my schedule has changed, so hopefully I'll go more often. It's the best place for the freshest, cheapest produce. But it's also great to go for the experience!
The bazaar experience starts as soon as we leave the house. In the picture above, you can see my roommate pulling our bazaar cart. Most of the ladies own one, because you usually are stocking up on 8 pounds of produce when you go. Afterall, meat and canned goods are expensive! So if you're shopping to feed your family for a week, that's a lot of produce. And the people in our city are especially proud of their produce. On the fertile southern plain that we live on, there's plenty of great fruits and vegetables to go around. Of course, we don't buy that much produce in a week, but we like to blend in and save our backs, so we have a cart as well.
As soon as you start walking towards the bazaar, you know it's bazaar day. You see ladies from all over the neighborhood walking to or from the bazaar on the main street that goes there. That main street is also lined with street vendors that capitalize on the bazaar "traffic." The closer you get, the more vendors there are, until they look like their own bazaar in the block before the bazaar. And they sell everything! In that picture my roommate is carrying a laundry basket because we bought one on the street that day. You'll see rugs, blankets, baskets, tea pots, fruits, nuts, fish, and even chickens if you're lucky. They sell out of vans and trucks. Other ladies just sit with their goods spread out on the sidewalk.
The first time I went to the bazaar, I thought I was on a travel show! There was actually a band set up outside the bazaar playing local music. I haven't been that lucky again, though. When you get in the bazaar, it's crammed full of people. Ours, especially, because it's surrounded by a large fence. Inside people set up their own stands complete with tables and awnings. Talk about lively! People are walking up and down the aisles, and the sellers are shouting to sell their produce--"come here, ma'am! go ahead! we've got tomatoes! onions! onions! onions!" When you decide on a seller that has a good product and a good price, you tell them how much you want (quarter kilogram, half kilogram, kilogram, etc). They weigh it on a traditional scale with actual metal weights and balances. Usually each vendor carries a few things, and there are several vendors that carry the same thing. While there is mainly produce, that's not the only thing they carry. You can find herbs, spices, eggs, olives, cheese, rice, seeds, and nuts, as well as other random odds and ends. You could actually do most of your grocery shopping at the bazaar if you cook like a Turk.
Oh, and if you were wondering, since I don't want to look like a tourist and take a picture at our local bazaar (what will the neighbors say?), I took that bazaar picture on our friend's balcony of her local bazaar.
