Back in the USSR, markets offered a variety of fresh produce, meat, cured fish, and other foods, whether from the nearby countryside or the other end of the country, that you’d have been hard-pressed to find in shortage-plagued stores. Just imagine: in the 1980s, in the dead of Moscow’s winter, you could buy a duck, […]
In my last Uzbek Adventures post, we caught a glimpse of Samarkand’s restaurants. We had lunch by the Registan and tasted exotic kebabs and wines in the Russian part of town. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque is the tourist’s next logical destination, and while there, it’s impossible to miss the food market next to it, the Siyob Bazaar. […]
As I mentioned in my last post, Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, doesn’t have the same touristic appeal as Samarkand or Bukhara. The 1966 earthquake caused massive destruction, and gave the USSR the opportunity to get rid of a good chunk of the old town, building in its stead a modern Soviet city with characteristic desolate avenues, occasional neoclassical […]
Now that we’ve explored Dushanbe’s cultural attractions, we’ll head to the central market. Shah Mansur Bazaar, also called the Green Bazaar, is easy to find: it’s a bona fide landmark, alongside club Port Saïd and the beer factory. “The heartbeat of Dushanbe trade,” says Lonely Planet. In a city literally named after a market, expectations are high. […]
Last time, I took a look at Moldovan food as it’s served in restaurants. Since Moldovans cook at home a lot more often than they dine in restaurants, let’s also visit the Central Market in Chișinău, where many provisions can be bought. Founded in 1825, Piaţa Centrală is located right in the city center, not […]
After exploring Baku’s restaurants, now we’re heading to the city’s main market, Taza Bazaar, one of the oldest in the city. Much larger than the central markets of Yerevan and Tbilisi, Taza Bazaar is probably the largest of its kind in the Caucasus. Not only will you find a variety of foods, with a strong […]
It’s been over a month since I concluded my Georgian Adventures with a look at the stores and markets of Tbilisi. And to start this Armenian Adventures series, I thought I would introduce you to Yerevan’s central market. I also recommend this excellent post about food and wine in Yerevan. Don’t miss the bread-making video! […]
To conclude this Georgian Adventure series, here’s a look at the stores and markets of the capital city, Tbilisi. Soviet mosaics are an endangered species in Tbilisi. Here is a rare specimen from the Lagidze Café on Rustaveli Avenue. Lagidze is a popular brand of sodas and syrups created at the turn of the 20th […]
In our previous adventures, we entered Abkhazia, an almost-country that already has a language with a funky Cyrillic alphabet, a flag worthy of a banana republic, a warmongering emblem, a dead president (Vladislav Ardzinba, below), and authoritarian-looking billboards: Not to mention some of the most accomplished Soviet bus stop architecture: And some very Soviet-looking attractions, […]