Chorsu Bazaar: Tashkent's beating heart

Chorsu ("four streams" — from four canals that once met here) has been Tashkent's central bazaar for more than a thousand years. The present covered pavilion was built in 1980 to a design by architects V.S. Azimov and S.R. Adilov: a low, wide dome 300 m in circumference clad in Uzbek blue tile, with radial pie-slice sections inside for different product categories.

Inside the dome: - Ground floor: meat, dairy, dried fruit, honey. - Basement level: fresh vegetables, herbs. - Upper gallery: pickles, prepared foods, tea and spice packets to take home.

Outside the dome, the market spills into open-air rows selling: - Clothing and household goods. - Fresh non from clay ovens (aroma-navigate). - The famous Chorsu plov cauldrons — try Beshqozon, Central Asian Plov Centre, or a small stall in the northeast corner for the most traditional Tashkent-style plov.

Best time: 08:00–11:00, weekdays, for the freshest produce and the least crowd. Fridays are the busiest and most photogenic.

The neighbouring Kukeldash Madrasa (16th c.) is a five-minute walk east.