Saturday Shopping

Shopping for things in Tbilisi just isn't like shopping anywhere else, at least in the US.  One of the features of this city is that there are multiple markets and types of markets!  There is the Antique/Flea market spread out on the broad sidewalk on the Dry Bridge near our house.  This market runs every day, but blossoms on the weekends as individuals selling their goods greatly expand their displays for the weekend.  This is very much a sidewalk affair and must be set up and taken down each working day.  The Dry Bridge is our main route between home and downtown, so we run the gauntlet through the flea market multiple times daily.

The only problem with this market is that it does occupy the sidewalk and often we are reduced to only a few feet of space for walking.  The vendors encroach upon the pedestrian way without hesitation.  Often they block access to a crosswalk or leave such a small space that one fears that the merchandise will be trod upon or broken by passersby.

Lamps of all kinds plus the crystal bobs to hang from them.

Cameras, coins, ribbons and medals.  Some pretty interesting stuff to be sure.

Right across the street is the outdoor Housing Market (emphasis mine), where agents and customers mix and deals are made or lost.  It's almost entirely word-of-mouth; sometimes the agents display a listing of their offerings on a sheet of paper hung from their necks.  More often, though, word gets spread on what's available and somehow the customers and agents get connected.

A ceramic tiles seller's booth

Our mission for Saturday morning was to find some things that the apartment needs.  First, we searched for tiles to put in the lower part of the walls in our entry room.  This was a job for the Alieva Bazroba; the huge, sprawling general-purpose hardware/houseware/construction market.  Our entryway is already partially tiled, so we took a sample to match.  There must be a dozen or more tile-selling booths, so we went from one to another until we found one selling the right color and pattern.  That done, we (with Dato's great help, of course) found a guy with a cart to take the boxes of tiles from the stall to Dato's car, which was hundreds of meters away.

Ceiling lamps for sale

More lamps

The next mission was to find a suitable ceiling lamp for the apartment.  As with the tile sellers, there are multiple stalls selling lighting fixtures.  Each space is rather small, maybe 15 by 20 feet; they put as much inventory as possible into their stalls, so many that it's difficult to pick out the features of any individual item.  We actually found the one we bought hanging above the walkway that runs between the rows of stalls.

To give you an idea of the scope and breadth of Alieva, there's a part where wrecked and worn-out cars and vans are broken down and stripped of anything of salvedge value.  Absolutely EVERYTHING is stripped and recycled.