The Old Bazaar

The first documented data on the existence of a shopping center on the site of today's bazaar dates from the XII century. The Skopje’s Bazaar, like all other bazaars, was located at the busiest place in the city where all the roads intersected. The term çarşi means "crossroads or square with access from all four sides." Skopje’s Old Bazaar (often called the "Turkish Bazaar") changed its appearance throughout the Ottoman rule in Macedonia. With the establishment of the stable Ottoman rule in the XIV century, the bazaar took on an oriental look with a multitude of mosques, imams, hammams, lodgings, shops and other buildings constantly being built. The building had its peak in the XVI century, when smaller bazaars appeared within the bazaar, specializing in and named after a certain craft, such as: the tin bazaar, the leather bazaar, the ironworks bazaar, the goldsmith bazar, etc. In 1555, an earthquake, severely damaged the bazaar. Moreover, it suffered a second major blow during the Great Austro-Turkish War, when Piccolomini set the city on fire. The documents of Evliya Çelibi, dating from the 17th century on the Skopje’s Bazaar state: “...It has 2.150 shops. Squares, and markets with arches and domes. The most beautiful out of all are: the bazaar of the bezas (cotton fabrics); the bazaars specializing in certain craft - umbrellas, slippers, painting and weaving. These are large bazaars structured according to a plan. The alleys are clean and cobbled. Each store is decorated with hyacinths, violets, roses, basil, lilacs and lilys in vases and pots, that simply intoxicate the visitors and traders with their smell. Educated and very honest people come here. During the summer heat, the Skopje Bazaar looks like the shadows of Baghdad, because of the covered roofs and arches like the ones in Sarajevo and Halep ... "
After the severe damage caused by the fire in 1689, the bazaar was rebuilt throughout the XVIII century. The reconstruction was slowed down as a result of the the then weakened ruling of the Ottoman Empire, but also by the major epidemics of plague and other infectious diseases.
New reforms offering better conditions for economic development were introduced in the first half of the XIX century. Furthermore, as a result of recognizing the need for developed artisanal production, measures protecting the artisans were taken affecting the rapid development of the bazaar. In that period, Macedonian Christian immigrated to the city increasing the number of Macedonian artisans and merchants. They played a key role in the rebuilding of the churches inside and outside of the bazaar, after the Sultan Mehmed II allowed Christians to build and restore churches on the territory of the Empire. Thus, the church of St. Dimitrius was renovated on several occasions, and the Jewish population rebuilt the Bet Jacob Synagogue.
Furthermore, in the XIX century and the first decade of the XX century the number of the shops increased, evolving the bazaar itself even more. During that time, architectural influence from the West started being implemented. Dozens of different types of crafts worked successfully in the bazaar, united in strong guild associations and divided into smaller bazaars, contributing to the rise of Skopje as the formerly known significant trade center not only in the Balkans, but on the entire territory of the Ottoman Empire.
After 1912, the year of the economic crisis, the wars, and the collapse of the Empire, the Skopje’s Bazaar, as well as all the other bazaars located in Ottoman Macedonia suffered consequences and economic decline during this period.
The bazaar is almost completely preserved to this day, making it one of the few complete bazaars in the Balkans.