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Bazaars in Tashkent
Tashkent was one of the ancient, political, economic, cultural and educational centers of Central Asia on the Great Silk Road.
From all gates of the city roads led to the Old Juva bazaar. The names of streets and mahallas around the bazaar that are preserved up to the present time give important information about the lives of craftsmen in the city.
The Russian artist Vereshchagin, who participated in the conquest of Tashkent, wrote: "One might like to compare with Tashkent's bazaar, the bazaars of other cities which I saw. They are small in size, but they are countless. It is difficult to say: is there a person, who is not busy with shop keeping in Tashkent? In the middle of the day the bazaar will be at it's peak, the trade will get too busy. The bazaar will be very crowded, it gets very difficult to walk in the street because of all the horses and camels..."
"In all, when it comes to trade, - writes Vereshchagin, - Tashkent is without rivals. It is situated on the main trade road of Central Asia, and is a city where caravans stop on their way from Bukhara and Samarkand to Russia and back".
In 1813 the Russian Ambassador Philip Nazaroff, who had been in Tashkent describes the city as a big trade centre, where caravans from different countries come and go away.
The bazaar was not only used for trade, but it also was a place for rest. After the orders of the city khokim were announced in the mosques, they were also announced by the heralders in the bazaar. Like in any other big city of Central Asia there were held night bazaars during hayit and ramadan. During night bazaars one of the main streets of the city was decorated. In front of tea-houses and workshops on both sides of the street wooden tables were put out, and there were sold different kinds of fruits and food. Flutes, pipes and drums were played, special heralders called people to the night bazaar. In one side of the circus acrobats, clowns and puppet performers performed their art, and in the other side there were Kurash (wrestling) and shows with trained animals. Musicians, singers, comedians, humorists and dancers showed their skills in the tea-houses.
In the middle of the XIX century as Russian and other Europian tradesmen established their business in the Tashkent bazaars, the Old Juva bazaar got more crowded. As a result different trade companies built their shops and offices there.
Chorsu (Persian "four sides")
First it was one of the ancient mahallas of Beshyoghoch daha. As mahalla it originated in the XI century , bordering the Tikanlimozor and Chuqurqishloq mahallas and the Registan bazaar. The roads from the main gates of the city met here.
In medieval cities the crossing of the two biggest streets were called Chorsu. In these places usually trade shops and craft workshops were situated. Naturally this mahalla, bordering the bazaar, automatically became a part of the Registan bazaar.
In ancient sources the name is encountered in the forms "Chorsuk", "Chorbozor". "Suq" in Arabic means "bazaar". Later in oral speech it transformed into "Chorsu".
Old Juva
It was one of the ancient mahallas of Sebzor daha. It bordered the Ohunguzar, Janggoh, Pushtihammom and Tinchob mahallas and the bazaar. The main streets of the city such as Takhtapul, Zarqaynar, Qorasaroy led to Mahsiduzlik Street most of the mahalla's craftsmen had their workshops. It was a melting pot of trade. It is natural that, after sometime this ancient mahalla, constituting a part of, later the main part of the central bazaar, was called by the name of Old Juva.
The historian V. A. Bulatova says, that according to the well-known scientist O. Smirnova "Eski" in the old Sogdian language means "high". And further she says that this term is quite suitable for ancient Tashkent. As evidence she refers to a legend saying that Tashkent rises on a mound of seven stream and seven hills. An other professor, Kh. Kh. Khasanov, says that "Eskijuva" is a mahalla name which came from "Juvakhona" (juva - weapon, khona warehouse) since in ancient times there was a place there for keeping weapons. In fact "jiba" means "chainmail".
Pastbazaar.
People today still call this bazaar "Pastbozor" (past- low), the reason is that the bazaar remains situated in a low place. In the ancient Turkic language the watery lowland was called "Choch". Another historian A. Ibrohimov says that the city's "Choch" name comes from that.
During soviet time there was a restaurant built in the centre of the bazaar called "October". Then Eski Juva mahalla was made into a square, and a statue of Kalinin was put up, and the square was called Kalinin square. For 70 years it was called Kalinin square, but this name didn't penetrate into people's minds. So, the bazaar used to be called Chorsu, Eski Juva or Pastbozor.
Oloy bazaar (Amir Temur Street).
In the beginning this area functioned for several years as a small bazaar for sheep, farming and agricultural goods. In 1928 the Oloy bazaar was officially founded and after independence it was rebuilt as a modern bazaar.
According to some historians, the khokim of Oloy vilayet Qurbonjon dodkho (procurator), who was the first among women in Central Asia with her sons to be awarded the title of "dodkho", later "Princess Oloy ." In order to gain independence she and her sons joined the popular movement "Pulatkhon". The 25th of April 1876 she led a successful attack on the troops of M. D. Scobeiev (a Russian general who later founded the new city of Ferghana with his name), but later she lost the battle after being betrayed . Some of her people were imprisoned, others fled in different directions. Some of them found refuge in the Oloy bazaar area and started trading there. Therefore the bazaar was called Oloy.
Source: Tashkentnama by Abdulaziz Muhammadkarimov
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