Qaysari, Erbil’s oldest local market

“Qaysari is the heart of Erbil’s business, but it is more than business, it is also fun.”
A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)
A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)

Zuher Shakir has been a carpenter in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, for about 28 years. “For us, it is not just work,” he said. “It is our dignity, our culture, and our honor to do this in Qaysari.”

The Qaysari Bazaar is a unique place where Kurdish tradition meets a new wave of foreign and domestic tourists drawn by chance to experience the irresistible culture: Food, clothes, crafts, and conversations.

Locally referred to as “bazarri qaysari,” meaning “covered market,” the Qaysari Bazaar is a complex maze of narrow lanes located south of and just across from the Citadel in the center of Erbil city.

Qaysari was built in the late 12th century, locals believe, and is an extension of the city’s millennia-old Citadel. Sultan Muzaffaraddin Gokbori, who was Erbil’s ruler, built the market area and two schools for the Citadel’s dwellers in 1195.

Walking in the bazaar today is a trip through history. One can see, for example, the 300-year-old tomb of famed Kurdish figure Saed Abdulla.

A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)
A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)

While new generations frequent high-end malls and shopping centers spread across the city, the people of Erbil still hold Qaysari in high regard, with renovations making the place more accessible.

“The malls cannot replace Qaysari because for locals going to Qaysari twice a week at least is a must,” said Nizar Omar, one of the vendors in the market area.

Shoppers walk through narrow paths, underneath a roof of corrugated metal. Each alley caters to specific types of products, which gives each part of the market its name.

The gleaming windows in the goldsmithing alley sparkle with gold braces, necklaces, rings, and hand-made jewelry. The stores are filled with customers as onlookers window-shop.

The honey and dairy alley is located in the north-south entrance where shoppers can find homemade yogurt, cheese, and local honey. Mounds of Kurdish cheese and fresh goat and sheep yogurt arrive from mountain villages and are piled next to fresh honeycombs.

A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)
A store in the Qaysari Bazaar of Erbil, Kurdistan Region. (Photo: Archive)

“We send at least 20 kilos of honey abroad every month,” Omar said. “We have a lot of customers outside Kurdistan.”

Other parts of the bazaar include the fabrics alley, the carpenters' alley, the alley of flowers, of nuts, of kitchen wear, of footwear, and so on.

“I learned carpentry from my father and grandfather,” Shakir said. “And now we have made a name for ourselves in the alley of carpenters in Qaysari, and I am teaching my children too. So the business will continue Inshalla.”

There are multiple entrances and exits to the Qaysari Bazaar. Shoppers often stop by one of the many tea houses to drink some chai. Mam Khalil’s tea house is one of the oldest in the bazaar, with its inner walls peppered with framed photos of times past and, to this day filled with regulars and newcomers alike.

“I never get bored here,” said Mumtaz Akram, a tourist from Baghdad. “I can have whatever I want and they (the shops) are all close to each other.”

Qaysari’s busiest time is prior to festivities such as Newroz (the Kurdish New Year), Ramadan Feast, Eid al-Adha, and Christmas.

“During Newroz and other occasions, we cannot even scratch our heads,” said Yaqob Qadir, another vendor. “Qaysari is the heart of Erbil’s business, but it is more than business, it is also fun.”