The real wealth
People
A bazaar stands not on its walls but on its people. Behind every stall is an accent, a family and a story they will tell you while weighing your tomatoes.
The real wealth
A bazaar stands not on its walls but on its people. Behind every stall is an accent, a family and a story they will tell you while weighing your tomatoes.
The 8th Kilometre is a multi-ethnic, talkative place. Azerbaijani, Russian and a dozen other languages stand side by side, and a customer is addressed now as "brother", now "sister", now "dear".
People
The sellers of "the Eighth" are often whole family businesses handed down over years: the same spot, the same regulars, their own circle of suppliers. Many know their customers by sight and remember what each one likes.
Trade here is not only money but company. A joke, a piece of advice, a glass of tea thrown in with the purchase — part of the bazaar's unwritten code.
Who you meet here
Knows the goods and the people; names a price and at once offers to drop it.
Comes here for years, haggles out of habit and drinks tea with a familiar seller.
A cart, strong arms and every passage of the market known by heart.
Runs the spot where the bazaar pauses for a minute over a glass of tea.
People
At the 8th Kilometre you easily hear several languages and understand without translation: tone, gesture, numbers on a calculator. This place teaches you to come to terms even where words run short.
Diversity here is not a slogan but a daily routine. Different peoples, habits and cuisines have shared one patch for decades and make "the Eighth" truly Bakuvian.
The figures on this page are composite. They describe the atmosphere of the place, not specific individuals.