Bazaar and its place
Whatever ways of exploring traditional society we choose, they will always lead us to a marketplace. This works both for the Guatemalan hinterland and the capital of Central Asian state.
Introduction
Social mirror
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Siyob Bazaar, Samarkand, 2024
The market is a space of constant interaction—between people, ideas, goods, values, and news. It’s a crossroad of all routes, and in the case of Uzbekistan, that’s true in the most literal sense. Local bazaars have always appeared at the place of the most important transportation hubs and intersection of major trade routes.
Termez city suburbs, 2019
Even today, despite the development of transport, globalization, modern agricultural technologies, the assortment of goods in any bazaar largely reflects the dynamic relationships between the rebellious natural environment and its inhabitants, who are constantly trying to bring it under control.
These are the products of their shared labor, like vegetables and fruits, as well as the results of the locals' reflection and creative transformation of regional materials into artisan goods.
Bukhara old city, 2024
Khiva's central market, 2024
Khiva's central market, 2024
A market stand at Itchan Kala, Khiva, 2024
Siyob Bazaar, Samarkand, 2024
The specifics of marketplace organization and architectural solutions also illustrate how people adapt to the surrounding landscape: both physically and culturally.
A bazaar is one of the best places to learn about a country and its people. From an anthropological point of view, any market is a representation of the economy, climate, landscapes, technologies, gender, age, and social structures of the population, their value systems, and communication strategies.
Marketplace is a blend of archaism and modern life. It has artistry, play, immediacy, aggression and unpredictability.
Parkent Bazaar, Tashkent, 2019
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Toqi Sarrofon's trade place dome, Bukhara, 2024
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Central Market in Andijan city, 2019
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Central Market in Qarshi city, 2019
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Siyob Bazaar, Samarkand, 2024
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A marketplace is a mirror that reflects the peculiarities of the society, cross-generation interactions, and a person’s relationships with the surrounding. It is also a place that dictates how much time a person spends in this unique space and what communication strategies and vocabulary they use.
Bukhara City Market, 2019
Supply and demand in the bazaar live next to religious and power ambitions. It’s a place for demonstrating your tastes and preferences, educating and forming values.
Place of exchange
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We will try to find an answer to these questions through direct observation, interviews with sellers and buyers, comments from experts, using Uzbekistan’s most famous bazaar—Chorsu—as an example. We used photos captured in other locations during the expedition to give a better understanding of the region’s trade culture.
Bukhara City Market, 2019
Chorsu, Tashkent, 2024
So why do bazaars appear in so many cultures? Here, people exchange almost everything—from agricultural and animal products to crafts, information, experiences, values, skills, and social roles.
What motivates people to go to the market? What do they lack? How does an imbalance in the distribution of vital goods arise, forming the basis of the market? And finally, what is the role of landscape and natural conditions in shaping the epicenter of the social space that we call the market?
Expedition of the Anthropogeos team to Uzbekistan
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Bukhara · Khiva · Boysun · Termez · Samarkand · Urgut · Tashkent · Kokand · Rishton · Ferghana · Andijan · Chust
Khiva
Andijan
Qarshi
Bukhara
Kokand
Derbent
Boysun
Termez
Samarkand
Tashkent
Chust
Urgut
Rishton
Ferghana
Bukhara City Market, 2019
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Project team
Sardar S. Sardarov
Editor-in-chief
Dmitry Baranov
Scientific supervisor
Alexandra Gordienko
Editor
Alexandra Gordienko, Hikoyat Salimova, Eric Seitov
Text
Anthropogeos (2019), Kamilla Ismakova (2024) and Eric Seitov (2024)
Photo
Yana Kuznetsova
Design and layout
Maria Baldina
Illustrations
Svetlata Orlova
Proofreading
