I spent Sunday taking Nadia around to the Yangiabad Bazaar, a massive weekend flea market located on the abandoned railroad yards and factory. She loves looking for antique glass and kitchenware and I like the Soviet-era stuff. It has been 30 years since the Soviets left and I wonder how much longer you will be able to find this stuff. I am always amazed at the vast range of items for sale and what has value. As you can see from the table above, this guy has everything from old SLR cameras, light sockets, a spatula, door hinges, handles, wire and other bric-a-brac. There is a Wuhan-like animal section, thankfully they are not slaughtering the animals at the market, but they are closely packed and the cages are not exactly the example of hygiene. I was tempted to buy a live turkey and hedgehog. I also loved the 1960s Soviet Zil “Moscow” refrigerator. It would look great in our basement bar in the US. The Zil company based in Moscow, built cars and trucks for almost 100 years (1916-2012). I did not know they also built appliances.
I purchased some unique gifts for family and friends. My son Owen is a big history buff so I got him a metal bust of Lenin and I got gas masks for Oliver and my brother. I also bought a cool metal nutcracker and bottle opener in the shape of a dragon. This sells as a vintage piece on eBay for much more than the $3 I paid for it.
Nadia loves unique furniture pieces and with inexpensive labor, she can get wood refurbished and chairs reupholstered for reasonable prices. She is getting two chairs for our new movie room redone with suzanis, the traditional embroidered needlework tapestries common in CentraL Asia. I joke that suzanis are “catnip” for female expats in Tashkent. We are also looking at doing something with this beautiful Bukhara door. Woodcarving is an old Central Asian tradition and the door below would be a beautiful display piece in a home. It could also be fashioned into a headboard or coffee table. We visited the workshop of one of the best wood craftsmen in the city to discuss the chairs and door.
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