While crowds flock to the centrally located Kuznechny Market, we suggest a visit to the other, less familiar markets—no less colorful and far less touristed. In the Sitny and Tarzhkovsky areas, one gets an even more vivid idea of how Russians live now. Here you will find babushkas from the countryside selling homemade honey along with mushrooms and berries collected in the forest. You'll also come across Uzbeks peddling rare spices and dried herbs, such as zira, which grows in the Chatkal mountains, as well as Azerbaijani traders offering the juiciest tomatoes you will ever taste.
Playing the Markets