Green Bazaar (Almaty): history, location and schedule of work

The Green Bazaar (Almaty) is rightfully considered one of the main attractions of the southern capital of Kazakhstan. In the shopping arcade is always noisy and crowded, here on any day of the week the residents of the city rush to buy fresh products, as well as manufactured goods from clothing and footwear to furniture and building materials. The central market, which has more than a century of history, is popular with tourists. Here you can buy original souvenirs and taste dishes of national cuisine.

The history of the shopping center

The Green Bazaar (Almaty), whose address remains constant for many decades, is located at the intersection of Zhibek Zholy (the former M. Gorky) and Zenkov. At this place in 1875 was built Gostiny Dvor, consisting of only two pavilions. The customer and sponsor of the construction was the merchant Rafikov - one of the most influential people of that time.

The present Almaty until 1921 was the city of Verny, the southern outpost of the Russian Empire. Caravan routes passed here, and Vernensky Gostiny Dvor gave visiting merchants a temporary shelter, allowed to rest before a long journey, to enjoy delicious food and hot aromatic tea.

Local traders briskly offered customers goods for every taste: fresh herbs, vegetables, cereals, clothes, firewood and other items needed in everyday life. In the square in front of the market, horse-drawn carriages stood amicably in rows, drivers urged each other to go out with shopping to the house.

The period of oblivion and revival

Seventeen years after the founding of the Gostiny Dvor, a strong earthquake occurred in the city, as a result, many buildings were destroyed, and the pavilions of the merchant Rafikov did not survive. Before the October Revolution in Verny, there were several bazaars of various orientations, selling certain types of goods.

The multi-purpose Gostiny Dvor was forgotten for many years. Already under Soviet rule in 1927, in its place, it was decided to put covered wooden shelves so that peasants could sell products brought from neighboring villages here. In official papers, trading rows were called the Central Collective Farm Market, but the people gave the former Gostiny Dvor a simpler name. So the Green Bazaar (Almaty) appeared.

Reconstruction and modernization

The market acquired a more modern look in the seventies of the last century. On the site of wooden counters, a multi-level capital structure was erected with underground storages, counters for trade in products, pavilions with industrial goods. The structure of the Green Bazaar includes a store "1000 trifles", car parking, summer tents and stalls. The building, designed by Kazakh architects, was recognized as one of the most technological and functional markets in the Soviet Union.

Oriental flavor and friendship of peoples

Noisy bustle, reigning between the trading rows, in many ways resembles the atmosphere of fabulous oriental bazaars. Counters at any time of year are full of fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy and meat products. Here you can taste real Kazakh koumiss and beshbarmak, treat yourself to Uzbek pilaf, Tatar whites, Caucasian shish kebab and shawarma. There are pavilions on the Green Bazaar where Koreans sell their national cuisine. Sharp salads from cabbage, carrots, radishes are very popular among buyers. Endless rows with crispy nuts, fragrant dried apricots, prunes and other dried fruits attract people of any gender and age.

In Soviet times, even there was such a joke: while you go around the Green Bazaar from end to end, it's free and you get drunk and get drunk. The whole point is that traders allowed the buyers to try any edible products, without requiring money for it. The counters of the market have never been empty, even in severe military hardship and unfavorable years ahead of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Green Bazaar in Almaty today

The central market of the business capital of Kazakhstan and in our days is the place where everything is literally. It is on the counters here that the very first spring greens appear, here they sell seedlings of fruit trees and bushes, sell shoes, clothes, dishes, household appliances, mobile phones, TVs - just simply do not list them.

The area of the Green Bazaar of Almaty invariably attracts not only local residents, but also visitors of the city, especially as there are other objects of cultural value nearby. A five-minute walk from the market is the Park of 28 Panfilov Guardsmen, on whose territory the golden domes are uplifted. The Cathedral of Zenkov, which is one of the oldest and most beautiful city buildings.

Not far from the market there are comfortable hotels and hotels. A few blocks away there is a confectionery factory "Rakhat", so sweet aromas of caramel, vanilla and chocolate hang over the trading rows.

Most public transport routes start from the market their way or return here to the final stop. It is impossible not to notice it, all the roads of the city, one way or another, lead to the Green Bazaar of Almaty. The schedule of this institution is limited to nine hours a day (from 9.00 to 18.00), but it seems that life here does not cease for a minute.