Dordoy Bazaar
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Dordoy Bazaar (; ) is a large wholesale and retail market in
Bishkek Bishkek, formerly known as Pishpek (until 1926), and then Frunze (1926–1991), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. Bishkek is situated near the Kazakhstan ...
,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
. The largest bazaar in Kyrgyzstan, it is one of Asia's greatest public
marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
s, comparable to
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
's Chatuchak Weekend Market or
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
's Grand Bazaar."'Made in China' moves into Russia's backyard"
By Daniel Sershen. "The Christian Science Monitor", 4 January 2007.
Dordoy Bazaar is a major shopping and employment centre for the Bishkek metropolitan area and entire Chuy River Valley region. It is also one of the main entrepôts through which consumer goods from China arrive at shops and markets in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.Uzbek-favoured Bishkek market catches fire
(uznews.com, 9 April 2008)
According to some economists, this re-export (the other center for which, targeting
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, is the Karasuu Bazar at
Kara-Suu Kara-Suu () is a town in Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley. The town is 23 km northeast of Osh and is the capital of Kara-Suu District. Its population was 26,609 in 2021. It is a major industrial and trade center, on the border ...
,
Osh Region Osh is a Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Osh, which is not part of the region. It is bounded (clockwise) by Jalal-Abad Region, Naryn Region, China (Xinjiang), Tajikistan (Districts under Central Government Jurisdiction ...
) is one of two largest economic activities of Kyrgyzstan.


Location and organization

The Dordoy market stretches for more than a kilometre on the north-eastern outskirts of Bishkek, near the bypass highway that skirts the city in the north. Legally, it is an agglomeration of several independent markets adjacent to each other. Since there are no fences, the borders between the markets are not particularly noticeable. According to a 2007 city atlas, the component markets are: * Ak-Suu * Vostok ('East') * Sever ('North') * Muras-Sport * Alkanov i K ('Alkanov & Co.') * Evropa ('Europe') * Kerben * Kitay ('China') * Zhonghai (which formally is considered a separate market from Dordoy) Most of the market is built of double-stacked
shipping containers A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
. Typically, the lower container is a shop, while the upper one provides storage. According to a 2005 newspaper report, there were 6,000 to 7,000 containers in the bazaar. , approximately 70,000 people work officially and unofficially in connection to Dordoy.Regine A. Spector, "Who Owns the Marketplace? Conflict over Property in Contemporary Kyrgyzstan". Prepared for the Graduate Student Conference, Department of Political Science, May 2, 2007. Berkeley, California, USA.
Draft version
)
The containers, organized in dozens of rows, form streets and plazas of a sort covering the equivalent of 160 rugby fields. Smaller buildings between the blocks of containers house restaurants, administrative offices, toilets, hotels, and other ancillary structures.


History

The market is said to date from 1992, its 15th anniversary being celebrated in 2007. In the view of journalists from the neighbouring Uzbekistan, one of the causes for the rise of Bishkek's Dordoy Bazaar was the decline of Uzbekistan's major wholesale markets. After the Uzbek government transferred
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
's huge Hippodrome Market to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior in 1998, increased police harassment of the trader resulted in Hippodrome losing its dominant position in the region. After its reconstruction in 2002–2003, Hippodrome, which once had 8,600 trading outlets and 18,000 traders, was succeeded by the much smaller Chilanzar goods market with 2,540 outlets. A similar story took place in Jizzakh, where in 2006 authorities closed the Dunyo Bozori (Uzbek for "World Market") marketplace (which had been established by Chinese traders) to replace it with the Abu Sahiy Nur shopping centre. As Uzbekistan's markets declined, purchasing by Uzbek buyers has shifted to Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek or
Kara-Suu Kara-Suu () is a town in Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan, in the Fergana Valley. The town is 23 km northeast of Osh and is the capital of Kara-Suu District. Its population was 26,609 in 2021. It is a major industrial and trade center, on the border ...
.


Ownership and management

Most of the marketplace (Dordoy proper, i.e. everything but Zhonghai) is run by OsOO "Dordoy Bazari" (), a member of the "group of companies" called Dordoi Association. The Zhonghai section is run by Dordoi Asia, another member of the same group. Besides the Dordoy markets, Dordoi Association also owns the smaller Alamedi Market, closer to central Bishkek (via OsOO "Alamudun Bazari" ()), Dordoi Plaza shopping mall in downtown Bishkek, a number of manufacturing and service companies in Bishkek and elsewhere, a beach resort at Koshkol' on Lake
Issyk Kul Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...
, and the soccer team Dordoi-Dynamo Naryn.Dordoi Dynamo


The traders

Different sections of the markets specialize in various types of consumer goods, including clothing, shoes, furniture, electric and electronic equipment, toys, automotive supplies, construction materials, etc. While some kinds of groceries (e.g. factory-packaged canned goods or sweets) are sold at Dordoy, it is not a produce market. Occasional produce vendors are present merely to feed the vendors and customers. Most of the goods sold at Dordoy arrive from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, with the second largest source (perhaps 30% of all imports) being
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.TURKEY’S CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC PRESENCE GROWS IN KYRGYZSTAN
''Eurasia Daily Monitor'', Volume 4, Issue 145. July 26, 2007. By: Erica Marat]
One can also find clothing from
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, music CDs from
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and goods from many other countries in
Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...
, as well as a selection of local products. Although many of the people working and shopping at the Bazaar speak Kyrgyz,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
is the main language used in trade.


Transportation

There is no rail access to the market: all goods enter and depart the bazaar by truck or car. Two large plazas near the northern and southern ends of the market are connected by frequent
minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...
service with central Bishkek. From the northern plaza, minibuses also run to various points throughout
Chüy Region Chüy is the northernmost Regions of Kyrgyzstan, region of Kyrgyzstan, surrounding the country's national capital of Bishkek. It is bounded on the north by Kazakhstan, and clockwise, Issyk-Kul Region, Naryn Region, Jalal-Abad Region, and Talas Re ...
, including Sokuluk,
Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...
,
Tokmok Tokmok (; ) is a city in the Chüy Valley, northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek, with a population of 71,443 in 2021. Its elevation is 816 m above sea level. From 2003 to 2006, it was the administrative seat of Chüy R ...
, and Korday border crossing (on the Kazakhstan border). For the convenience of the "shuttle traders", charter buses run from Dordoy to several major cities in Kazakhstan and in Russia's
Urals The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.
and Western
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
.


See also

* Area 506 Waterfront Container Village, a marketplace in
New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
, Canada that also utilizes shipping containers *
Bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
*
Market (place) A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...
*
Retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...
*
Shipping container architecture Shipping container architecture is a form of architecture that uses steel intermodal containers (shipping containers) as the main structural element. It is also referred to as ''cargotecture'' or ''arkitainer'', Blend word, portmanteau words ...
* Souq


References


External links

* Isaac Rotschild,
Tour de Dordoi
" - Photos and essay on Dordoi Bazaar. ''The Spektator'' Magazine, No. 3, Dec 2008/Jan 2009), pp. 20–22. *
Dordoy (Dordoi) map
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101007112550/http://www.exportasia.ru/dordoi , date=2010-10-07
A Steel Caravanserai Booms on the Modern Silk Road
Bazaars Retail markets in Bishkek Shopping malls established in 1992