Food markets in the 5 Stans, Central Asia

 Whilst on a 3 week tour of the 5 Stans in Central Asia, we did a lot of eating. We also visited several bazaars, and I was particularly interested in the food sections.

The 5 Stans are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 

The first country we visited was Kyrgyzstan. These photos are from Osh Bazaar in Bishkek. It is one of the largest bazaars in Bishkek and located on the western side of the city. It covers a huge area and is full of stalls, many selling the same produce. I wondered how shoppers choose which stall to buy from.

In this photo, notice the QR code in front of the trader. These unified ELQR codes to accept cashless payments through mobile banking and digital wallet apps. Backed by the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, a single QR code works across different banks and e-wallets, so you do not need a specific app to match the vendor's bank.

I went over to the meat section which was in a separate enclosed area. It seemed very clean -

Back outside, this stall caught my eye. I later found it is Chuchuk, a traditional Kyrgyz horse meat sausage

These heads were in a plastic box -

Next is Kazakhstan. As we drove through the small village of Baiseit in the Almaty region, our guide told us the market stalls are typical to here, as the produce is local -       

The next market was in Almaty, Kazakhstan, known as the Green Bazaar. These photos are from the food section -

The meat section was divided into rows with the animal shown on a green sign. This is horse meat. Horse meat is very common in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and we saw lots of horses in the fields. 

Tinned horse meat. Kazy is a traditional Central Asian sausage made from seasoned horse meat and fat, typically prepared with garlic and spices.

horses in Kyrgyzstan

cheese products

I bought some chocolate from the supermarket

Moving onto Tajikistan, this is Mehrron Bazaar in Dushanbe. Named after the ancient Persian autumn harvest festival of Mehrgon, it opened in 2014 as a modern, climate-controlled replacement for older local markets. From the outside it looks like a modern shopping centre so I got quite a surprise when I went in - 

It sells produce from Tajikistan's fertile orchards and farms, such as fresh and dried fruits, honey, famous Tajik spices, halva etc.

I was surprised to see this stall, selling freshly chopped carrots and yellow carrots, for use in plov, the national dish of Tajikistan -

The first floor had a lot of items for phones etc, as well as textiles and the upper floor was textiles and a small eating area etc. 

Driving through Tajikistan, these dolana fruit were for sale at roadside stalls

At the same place was this butcher

Another roadside stall in Tajikistan, selling dried apricots and dried balls of yoghurt. I'd tried them in Kazakhstan and they were very hard and very sour  -

An interesting way to keep the drinks cool, by cascading water down over the shelves -

In Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the Siyob Bazaar is the largest and oldest traditional market, located right next to the historic Bibi-Khanym Mosque.

tea with added fruits etc

Many varieties of melons are grown in Tajikistan -

A shop selling non or nonlari at Samarkand railway station. Non is a famous type of thick, ornate, and dense Central Asian flatbread.  

And another shop selling a lot of chocolate bars common in the UK. In fact these were available almost everywhere.

In Bukhara , Uzbekistan, the Central Bazaar -

maybe beef kidney fat

Bibo Bio Qurt is a popular traditional Central Asian snack made from dried, salted yogurt or fermented milk, stamped with playful emoji faces.

More pomegranate juice -

And onto Turkmenistan . Melons roadside stop Ashgabat-Daşoguz trunk road -

The Gulistan (Russian) Bazaar, Ashgabat -

Although we saw so many stalls in all the countries stalls laden with spices, the food we had was never very spicy and certainly not hot in the chilli sense. Maybe it was served this way for tourists.

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See my blog on Food in the 5 Stans .