The new bazaar in Tirana the capital of Albania is an open market surrounded by shops selling produces as well. It is located fairly in the centre of the city not so far from the opera. It is easily accessible also by car, could almost be transferred into a drive-in market.
The market has a Mediterranean touch with its focus on fruits & vegetables, still one will find pickles as well which I believe is not so typical for the region. Some shops for fish or cheese surround this market. It was rare to find meat and if so it was rather roasted chicken as a ready-made dish for home.
The market is not a beauty by definition, but the vendors always showed nice ways to present their produces: colorful arrangements of their vegetables instead of piles. The colors of the carrots were vivid at one stand as the vendor poured water over them.
A unique experience were the stands which sold cut tobacco piled up in nice shapes and with bags of cigarette filters next to it. I had never seen something like this before. Who ever stopped smoking regrets it in this moment …
The pickles were another nice discovery: appealing filled eggplants which looked like a carb free version of a veggie burger and cheese filled peppers.
All in all: a nice market on the rougher side of life which caters for daily shopping and offers some nice discoveries through friendly vendors.
A little link list:
- Small post from an Albania Travel Guide Online