Bazaars

Featuring: the enigmatic Ka’aba, singular Dome of the Rock, urban Suleymaniya, Isfahan’s labyrinthine Bazaar, the incomplete Sultan Hasan madrassa, sensuous Alhambra, infinite Cordoba, photogenic Taj Mahal. Extant structures from 7th to 16th century in different regions will be introduced along with concurrent Muslim thinkers, poets, mystics, scientists and architects. As the enigmatic buildings are laden with inscriptions (given the the centrality of Quran and status of calligraphy in Muslim culture), they provide us clues to decipher the monument’s meaning in our attempt to make sense of the past as of the present.

Note: the lecture course was previously taught both at Carleton University, Ottawa and at Jnanapravaha, Mumbai in 2018. This course outline was for the course scheduled for 2020 (postponed due to the pandemic).

Abstract:
This paper situates ‘bazaar’ as a site of multifaceted exploration. It is as much an inquiry into a bazaar (‘Janpath’ in New Delhi) as it is into the modes of knowledge about the bazaar. Challenging the representation of the postcolonial bazaar as a bizarre relic of the past or the pure theoretical market, I make the case for viewing it as a socioeconomic site of modernity. The symbolic geography of this site is contested, populated as it is, with the evocations, expectations, and histories of the various implicated human constituencies.
Bazaars are integral to cultural imaginaries, and I start by presenting some of the ways in which they have functioned to excite fantasy and fear. In spite of this, bazaars are often conceptualised primarily as an economic space to ‘truck, barter and exchange’. I suggest that in this characterisation there is a problematic slippage between the market and the bazaar. The bazaar is not simply another market. Neither is the market itself any much more than a convenient fiction for the purposes of an abstract deductive political economy which obtains its purchase on the ‘economic’ realm by a perpetual erasure of subjectivity and particularity under the signs of objectivity, generality and science. While, even to many anthropologists, the appeal of judging the bazaar against a pervasive ideal of the market continues to be irresistible, I argue that the bazaar offers a valuable site to challenge the culture/economy separation that characterises much thinking about the economic realm. It is to this effect that the paper travels to re-member the coming into being of a specific bazaar – the Janpath. What makes this travel interesting is the forays it makes into issues of governmentality, patriarchy, livelihoods under capitalist globalisation, nationstatism, in other words, the spatial and symbolic contexts of postcolonial modernity in India.
...

Overview:
The bazaar has been an exotic site and its rationality has been the subject of rescue endeavours in much research. In contrast, I have argued that we need to see the bazaar as a fertile ground – a hybrid space for stories, for theories, and for explorations of the nation-state, of capitalism, colonialism, globalisation, and governmentality. In particular, the Janpath Bazaar provides us with a site for exploring diverse postcolonial subjectivities under the influence of a weighty history and the diffuse operation of coercive power. If we see it as a space unrarefied by the disciplinary boundaries of culture, economy, history, theory, literature, activism – it can be the site for exploring several interconnected issues as they are lived, experienced, and observed. This paper has travelled to transgress the story/theory modes of enquiry in the hope of presenting the poetics and politics of bazaars in general and the Janpath bazaar in particular as contested spaces with many layers of meaning that undo the pervasive and problematic separations of culture and economy in modernity.

This thesis consists of a series of extensive projects which aim to explore a new designer role for fashion. It is a role that experiments with how fashion can be reverse engineered, hacked, tuned and shared among many participants as a form of social activism. This ...

The development of a public market in the city planning is pivotal in supporting the growth of the local economy. The market is also a place where the culture of the locals evolves daily. However, the unique qualities of the market are vulnerable to the redevelopment process. This study examines the cultural aspects of Pasar Payang in Terengganu, Malaysia, as one of the well-known markets among the locals and the tourists, which will soon be redeveloped. The aim of this paper is to identify the tangible and intangible qualities of the market, so that it can sustain its cultural qualities in the future. The methods adopted for this study comprise of conducting a survey among 497 visitors, and semi-structured interviews among 19 market vendors. The findings reveal that the cultural vitality of the market can be sustained by strengthening its local identity through its products and culture, providing spaces that can facilitate tourist activities and cultural participation, and enhancing the development of the local businesses.

If you observe the map of a city, you automatically
focus on three elements: the core, the part where we seek
the very start and where the urban elements are full of
history; residential blocks and the street grid structure
that goes within; the limits of the city, the obstacles that
have influenced on the actual urban development and the
tendencies for the future come at last.
The plan of the city is very expressive. This document
and the personal experience of the urban environment tells
us about how have been created the living environment and
what are his values and his aesthetically accomplishments.
The most sustainable city-forming urban elements are:
the core or the bazaar, mostly representing the start of the
settlement; the residential block as a testimony of the way of
life within the architectural unit, but most of all representing
the relations between spatial and universal, individual and
collective, public and private; the public space as the most
important part of the urban space, including the private one.
In this study, we will focus on the core of the cities,
even though few examples have reached our days, but in
some cases they have shaped the morphological and spatial
structure of the city centers of today. Today we face the loss
of the old bazaars of Berat, Shkodra, Elbasan, Kavaja, Tirana
and partially the old bazaar of Korça. Meanwhile we can
still appreciate the old bazaar of Gjirokastra, Korça, Çarshia
of Peja and Gjakova in Kosovo.
We are aware that the logic of contemporary development
cannot accept the imitation of this architecture but it is not
permitted to alter the symbolic of this architecture, to destroy
history or even peoples’ heritage. These places are identified
as “locus”, as pathological elements in the urban body.
A “place”, a “locus” identified as such from the past
and present, must be preserved as an “idea”, today and
the days to come, independently from the architecture that
characterizes it, because it is or seeks to be a city-forming
idea, it is a cultural and social culture. It is a way of life and
behavior. It is memory and cradle to its identity.
Focusing the study on the old Albanian bazaars, we
aim to ease the reading and point to the values of an urban
phenomenon, identity the historical and spatial values of this
urban object, helping in the design of intervention programs,
to preserve the physical and spiritual homogeneity of urban
life.
For this purpose the maps of 1930-1950 of cities like
Berat, Gjirokastra, Korça, Elbasan, Kavaja, Tirana, Shkodra
and Peja and Gjakova in Kosovo have been redrawn. It will
reside in the urban morphology and the spatial structure in
the economic-social centres of these cities.
These centres in the Albanian cities are organized in
two ways: as separated neighborhoods in the centre or in the
periphery like Berat, Korça, Tirana, Shkodra e Elbasani, or
as e shopping street as a part of the street grid of the city like
Kavaja, Gjirokastra, Vlora and Gjakova.
Another interesting element is the position of the object of cult and of the administrative buildings in the bazaars
of the traditional cities. The towers of clock are elements
of reference in the urban landscape. We have cases where
the cult objects surround the bazaar from all sides like in
Tirana, when they surround the bazaar from only one side
like in Berat, Shkodra and Korça, create a line through the
bazaar like in Elbasan, and also they may have important
places within the bazaar like in Kavaja, Peja, Gjakova,
Vlora or Gjirokastra.
It is worth mentioning the urban nodes within and in
the perimeter of the bazaar that cannot be treated only as
crossroads but also as entrance or exit, as well as connection
points of the urban structure of the bazaars with the rest of
the city. These nodes may be points with a high level treading
activity. Sometimes, they may create tendencies to form
public spaces, without reaching entirely its characteristics
because of the non-inviting functions, their dimensions or
the high intensity of movement in them.
As a conclusion, the bazaars of the traditional Albanian
cities are the most active core of the city. They are multi functional
spaces, including cult objects and where the street
nodes are very live and active elements. Different analysis
can be done about the bazaars. Let’s hope that this study
have reached its purpose to know and appreciate them,
while facing the fact city life as it was, with all the identity,
traditional knowledge and spatial values is being lost.

In this paper on the subject of Farmers’ Markets and the Farmers’ Market Culture in Istanbul, marketing strategies including various variables, and marketing slogans will be studied and analyzed.
The Local Farmers’ Market History section introduces and examines shopping / trade as one of the main human activities within the context of time and location, as well as the correlation between Industrial Revolution and manufacturer in addition to the manufacturer - consumer relations.
In the section called Today of Farmers’ Markets and Market Merchandising in Istanbul, data on location, day and time; diversity of products offered; and product contents of Istanbul Farmers’ Markets is shared. This data is followed by the information gathered through interviews conducted with Istanbul Umum Pazarcilar Esnaf Odasi (Istanbul Local Farmers’ Market Tradesmen Association), Dora Research, tradesmen, consumers and official trade control officers.
The last chapter Sales Strategies in Farmers’ Markets analyzes the decisions and dynamics in regards to location within the market, pricing systems and variables, the use of displays and the management of product range, and the marketing slogans comparatively.

The costume album remains an invaluable tool in revealing how patrons organised and catalogued their constantly expanding world through dress. Considering the success of the costume book as a booming market product in early modern Europe and its response in the bazaars of Ottoman Istanbul in the early seventeenth century, the topic warrants further examination of how these books shaped literate society’s perceptions of other cultures. Two early costume albums illustrate a compelling dialogue concerning the population of Ottoman Istanbul, both commissioned in bazaars by foreign travellers: the Warsaw Album of the Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie (BOZ 165), and the Peter Mundy Album currently residing at the British Museum (Add. 23880/1974-6-7-013). My article assesses how these books create contrasting portrayals of power and social diversity in the Ottoman Empire by using depictions of dress as windows into cultural mores. I explore how each book attempts to form a city portrait through its compilation of characters and dress in the albums. With these sources, I highlight how the joint e orts of Ottoman artists and foreign patrons o er a surprising range of interpretation, despite their mass-produced reputation in scholarship. This study highlights the considerable role of the European compiler as a curatorial agent in this process.

Typically, the auction house salesroom has been conceived of as an exemplary market: a place in which ultimate price is fixed by persons at a particular moment. This perspective relies on a static a-historical view of an isolated marketplace. This study views the auction sale of tribal art as one part of a wider economic set, within which objects and persons interact to momentarily assign price (or not). It thereby expands the common anthropo- logical use of the notion of a ‘tournament’ of value (Appadurai, 1986). A brief background to the history of the auction and of the tribal art market precedes an examination of the auction as a ‘distributed object’ (Gell, 1998): a series of events from catalogue and viewing, to the performance of sale. Within each of these situations, price is shown to be fixed by ambiguous and malleable processes of valuation over space and time.

The subject represents an ethnographic display of the Old Bazaar in Bitola, Macedonia which is one of the largest and best-preserved bazaars in the region. And also, it is an important part of the cultural heritage, not only of Bitola, but the entire country. More specifically the theme deals with its tangible and intangible heritage and the problems that exist in the cultural policy for their preservation.

The article focuses on the bazaars or marketplaces in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Three arguments concerning their fate relate to the modernization theory and the city's plans for commercial and cultural development, path-dependent logic suggesting that bazaars are an entrenched trading institution, and government intervention at bazaars in the interest of economic elites. In short, bazaars thrive and close based more on the interests of powerful political and economic elites than the activities of vendors and buyers. Topics include the: growth of bazaars as a post-Soviet economic system; social dynamics among the bazaars' traders, owners, and political elite; sanitary conditions and lack of rent regulations at the markets; city's attempts to modernize, regulate, and reconstruct bazaars via "passportization" into modern trading complexes; and official and unofficial stories about the closing of the Baian Aul bazaar.

Anadolu’dan Mısır’a giden yol güzergâhında, Ön Asya ile Suriye toprakları arasında kavşak noktası olan Antakya; Asuri, Roma, Pers, Arap ve Osmanlı gibi birçok medeniyete ev sahipliği yapmış kadim bir kenttir. Kadim kentlerin kimliğinin bir parçası olan tarihi çarşılar, toplumsal hafızayı örneklemeleri itibariyle önemli alanlardır. Birçok faaliyetin bir arada yürütüldüğü bu tür alanlar yalnızca ticaret merkezi olarak hizmet etmezler. Geçmişi XVII. Yy’e kadar dayandırılan, Evliya Çelebi’nin Seyahatname ’sine dahi konu olmuş Uzun Çarşı, tarihi ve yüzyıllardır devam eden çarşı kültürünü sürdürebilen özelliğiyle, Antakya kent kimliğinin önemli bir parçasıdır. Uzun Çarşı toplumsal hafızanın kaydının tutulduğu, bulunduğu şehri tanımlayan önemli bir mekândır. Sosyal hafızanın önemli bir unsuru olarak kültür canlıdır, gelişir, değişir ve hatta ölebilir.  Bu çalışma Uzun Çarşı’da, çarşı esnafına has birtakım inanç, gelenek ve göreneğin dolayısıyla toplumsal hafızanın değişim-dönüşümünün izlerini sürmüştür. Çalışmanın bulguları 2017 yılı içerisinde çeşitli zaman dilimlerinde Uzun Çarşı’ya gidilerek yerinde gözlem ve rastgele örneklem tekniğiyle çarşı esnafıyla görüşmeler yapılmak suretiyle elde edilmiştir. Mülakatlar ses kayıt cihazı ile kayıt altına alınarak elde edilen veriler daha sonra kayıt cihazı dinlenerek dikte edilmiş ve kayda geçirilmiştir. Bulgular literatürdeki konuyla ilgili kaynaklarla da desteklenmiştir. Çalışmada bulgular, ‘çıraklık’, ‘esnaflar arası ilişki’, ‘iş kolları ve iş kollarına ayrılan yerler’ , ‘bir takım inanç ve adetler’ gibi başlıklarla tasnif edilerek kente ait toplumsal hafızanın izleri analiz edilmeye çalışılmıştır.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the significance of the thermal springs in the village of Bansko (Strumica) in the Middle Ages and the Ottoman period. With the long-term archeological excavation at the Great Roman bath, located in the eastern periphery of the village of Bansko, the accent was placed on the significance of the thermal springs only for one period. Absolutely, the springs were used also in the following periods and the naming of the village of Bansko (spa village), in the middle age, indicates the presenceof a bath in the village itself.
The significance of the thermal spring in the village of Bansko in the Middle Ages and the Ottoman period in this paper is seen through: the fortress Termica ( Θερμιτζα ) – archeological site,, Kitka“, episcopal seat - locality 40 martyrs of Sebaste and one of the most famous bazaars that existed in the Ottoman Empire, Doljan bazaar.

Key: Strumica, village Bansko, thermal springs, the fortress Termica,Doljan bazaar and Episcopal seat

Drawing on ethnographic observations in Lao markets and bazaars, this article proposes a new and experimental framework for the analysis of multi-ethnic trading. It explores bazaars and trade as sites of the (re-)production of ethnicity through the perspective of gift exchange theory. On markets, transcultural differences can be identified and stabilized through the exchange of goods and money. This draws attention to the role of trade items as foci – and perhaps even as non-human agents – in the emergence of ethnicity and other forms of local identity. The value of items’ specific origins is thus linked to social structure. This helps us to see how the shaping of group identity can be better understood by considering how the goods they bring to market carry with them some features of the gift.

We investigate how informal social networks can assist multinational firms in their internationalization strategy. We propose a refinement of the Uppsala internalization model (Johanson & Vahne, 2009) grounded in network theory, by developing an intermediate position between an 'insider' and an 'outsider' for conditions when the transformation of an outsider into an insider is limited by institutional constraints. An intermediary position represents one of the sides of 'patron-client' informal networks (Denoeux, 1993) whereby the other side is represented by the 'insider'. We argue that this setup would help mitigate the Liability of Outsidership (Johanson & Vahne, 2009), a replacement of the Liability of Foreignness (Hymer, 1976; Zaheer, 1995), in the modern networked business world. We contextualize our proposition for the case of Iran, a large rising West-Asian economy with known institutional limitations, and suggest that the informal network of local merchants (bazaaries) could play an important intermediary role in Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) internationalization process. We review the history of bazaaries and make a series of propositions exemplifying possible ways informal networks could influence the internationalization process. In addition to reaffirming the importance of the MNE country of origin (emerging markets, and low psychic distance with Iran), we propose that an intermediary of the Iranian bazaaries will have a positive impact on performance and survival of the MNE's subsidiary in Iran, especially in the case of incongruence of MNE's leadership with Shi'a Islam. Additionally, we suggest that employing the Iranian diaspora may also improve subsidiary performance and survival.

The Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex was officially protected in 1975 and has been covered by special stewardship measures until 2010, when it was added to the World Heritage List. The complex covers 27 hectares with over 5.5 kilometers of covered bazaars. Three different protection areas have been established (a nominated area, a buffer zone and a landscape zone), subject to special regulations incorporated into the planning instruments. The management framework is based on the participation of the bazaaris, together with municipal authorities and ICHTOs Tabriz Bazaar Base. Since 2000, numerous complexes within the bazaar have been rehabilitated with the participation of the owners and tenants. Infrastructure has been improved and public facilities have been built.The Tabriz Bazaar is a unique example of urban conservation and development project in which heritage plays a catalyst role in rejuvenating the tangible and intangible memory of the historic city of Tabriz.

This article explores global bazaars run by migrants in Central and Eastern European (CEE) coun-tries. Socialist and post-socialist mobilities have made a fundamental contribution to the establish-ment of new trading centres since the collapse of communism. Marketplaces change over time and are shaped by migration regimes, neo-liberalism and increasing cultural diversity. In bazaars we can study how diversity and economy mutually impact each other. I argue that post-socialist migrations have contributed to cultural diversity, thereby promoting the creation of new marketplaces, while eve-ryday encounters in these localities result in conflict and/or solidarity among various groups. These processes are embedded in state regulations and are affected by the spatiality of bazaars in CEE ur-ban surroundings. I conclude by focusing on religious diversity in the CEE bazaars, as cross-border religious practices not only help migrants to cope with social and economic hardships but also gener-ate global interconnectedness.

The development of a public market in the city planning is pivotal in supporting the growth of the local economy. The market is also a place where the culture of the locals evolves daily. However, the unique qualities of the market are vulnerable to the redevelopment process. This study examines the cultural aspects of Pasar Payang in Terengganu, Malaysia, as one of the well-known markets among the locals and the tourists, which will soon be redeveloped. The aim of this paper is to identify the tangible and intangible qualities of the market, so that it can sustain its cultural qualities in the future. The methods adopted for this study comprise of conducting a survey among 497 visitors, and semi-structured interviews among 19 market vendors. The findings reveal that the cultural vitality of the market can be sustained by strengthening its local identity through its products and culture, providing spaces that can facilitate tourist activities and cultural participation, and enhancin...

Each city is expected to have its own characteristic features. If a city has
qualities that distinguish it from other cities, it may be possible to mention the existence of a city identity for that city. This study aims to address the concept of urban identity in the context of the historical bazaars that form the historical urban centers. For this purpose, the cities of Skopje and Sarajevo, reflecting the model of Balkan cities of the
Ottoman period, were examined in accordance with the identity qualities they carried from the past to the present. In the study, the conceptual framework for collective memory and urban identity was presented and then the contribution of Old Bazaar and Başçarşı samples to urban identity was evaluated through the data obtained as a result of the literature research.

کتابِ حاضر اولاً تلاشي است براي محک زدنِ ديدگاه‌هاي مرسوم در مورد نقش سياسي بازار از طريق طرح پرسشي ناظر بر فاعليت پررنگ سياسيِ بازار از اعتراض به قرارداد رژي تا انقلاب ????، در مقايسه با نقش منفعل وي پس از آن. دوم تلاشي است براي پاسخ به همين پرسش از طريق مفهوم‌پردازيِ بازار همچون مجموعه‌اي از شبکه‌ها که در کنش‌هاي شخصي اعضايش حک شده‌اند و در تعامل با ديگرِ همتايان، نمودي عيني مي‌يابند. به اين اعتبار، علاوه بر موشکافي‌هاي بديع در انواع ارتباطاتي که هويت بازار در ايران را مي‌سازند، کتاب حاضر را مي‌توان تشريک مساعيِ جدّي‌اي دانست در مبحث ناظر بر فاعليت سياسي گروه‌هاي اجتماعي و نهادهاي سياستگذاري که همواره هم از جذّاب‌ترين و هم از مناقشه‌انگيزترين مباحث معطوف به مطالعه? نظريه‌ها و تجارب دوران‌هاي گذار در جامعه‌شناسي سياسي بوده‌است.
ابراهیم اسکافی : مترجم

-- http://shirazehketab.com/product/detail/363/بازار-و-دولت-در-ایران-


-- Tehran Book Price 1399/2021:  http://www.ibna.ir/fa/tolidi/303127/هفتمین-جایزه-تهران-برگزیدگان-خود-شناخت-تجلیل-بلوکباشی-نصر-الله-حدادی

THE EAST BAZAAR OF HARRAN

                            Summary

            The Eastern Bazaar, located in the east of the Great Mosque of Harran.
It is between the bazaar and the vaulted road around the shops.
During the archeology excavations we made in 2015 and 2016, the entire of the Eastern Bazaar was excavated.

      This bazaar opens to the street in the eastern side of the Great Mosque divided into two parts as A-B. In section A, there are the Shops 1-4 and a courtyard and Corridor 1. In section B, there is Hall  2,  Corridor 2, Shops. 5-9 and Hall  1-4.

      In the Eastern Bazaar built from stone, brick and wood, 3 periods architectural features are clearly observed in the smooth cut stone, the reused stone and brick braided walls and the binders.

      Some parts of the Eastern Bazaar had two floors. The function of the rooms of the Eastern Bazaar is to find ceramics, glass, bronze, etc. in the rooms, they are tried to be determined according to the density of the material.

      In this declaration, Harran Eastern Bazaar and its findings will be introduced in detailed and the functions of the rooms will be commented.
Key Words: Bazaar, Bedestan, seramic, glass, coin,  Harran, Abbasid, Zengi, Ayyubid,  Middle Age.
                                                                ÖZET

Harran Ulu Cami’nin doğusunda yer alan Doğu Çarşısı, Çarşı Hamam’ı ile etrafına dükkanlar dizili olan tonozlu yol arasında bulunur. 2015 ve 2016 yılında yaptığımız arkeoloji kazılarda Doğu Çarşısı'nın tamamı meydana çıkarıldı.
Ulu Cami’nin doğu doğrultusundaki sokağa açılan bu çarşı A-B olarak iki bölüme ayrıldı. A bölümünde 1-4 No’lu Dükkanlar ile Avlu ve 1 No’lu Koridor yer alır. B bölümünde ise 2 No’lu Koridor, 5-9 No’lu Dükkan, 1-3 No.lu Salon 1-4 No’lu Hol bulunur.
Taş, tuğla ve ahşap malzemeden inşa edilmiş olan Doğu Çarşısı’nda, düzgün kesme taş, devşirme taş ve tuğla örgülü duvarlarında ve bağlayıcılarında dönemsel (3 Dönem) mimari özellikleri açık seçik izlenilmektedir.
Bazı bölümlerinin iki katlı olduğu tespit edilen Doğu Çarşısı’nın odalarının işlevi ise, odalarda bulunan seramik, cam, tunç v.b. malzeme yoğunluğuna göre belirlenmeye çalışıldı.
Bu bildiride, Harran Doğu Çarşısı ve buluntuları ayrıntılı şekilde tanıtılarak, odaların işlevleri hakkında yorumlar getirilecektir.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Çarşı, Bedesten, seramik, cam, sikke, Harran,  Abbasi, Zengiler, Eyyubiler,  Orta Çağ.

The current study is a short summary of the observations made during the one-day field surveys conducted in the bazaar area in the Konak district of Izmir, Turkey in 2011 and 2015. The main aim of the surveys was gathering information regarding the practices of the metalsmiths’ traditional work which could serve as comparative evidence for Antique manufacturing processes. In this regard, the research subjects were small and midscale enterprises, which apply primarily manual labor.

Street-market-art. The Jaama turg goes gallery by Francisco Martínez in EKA G gallery
What kind of treasure can we get with 3 euros? How many gems are you able to find among the trash of an open-air market? What sort of artistic composition does it create? In this exhibition we invite 24 people to rescue an item from the Jaama turg. These objects will be redeemed in the gallery from oblivion.
The exploration of the Jaama turg is particularly relevant, since rumours about the construction of a shopping mall on the site are being currently spread. Neither this post-socialist site of exchange, nor the products sold there are seen as mportant. We explore why by inviting 23 people to encounter the normal functioning of the market and twist it into an out-of-place display.
Shall we expect that a horde of treasure seekers will go now to the open-air market to rescue their own gem? Should we hire another guard to look after the precious items displayed at the gallery?

"The story of Daryaganj Sunday book market is triangulated between the figures of the vendors, the buyers, and the books. But there is the larger life and the built environment of the city which contains it. The location of the market on footpaths situates it in that in-between/buffer zone of contested ownership and unruly commerce characteristic of many south Asian cities. In this bazaar, a second-hand book is an object of desire, a commodity and an object defined through specific spaces as well as an instrument of organising it. It is tied in a complex system of value and ‘valuelessness’ (given that it is also sold by weight), which in turn becomes a lens for thinking about the ‘margins’ and the ‘centre’ of the city."

This​ ​ paper​ ​ discusses​ ​ the​ ​ emergence​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ new​ ​ formats​ ​ of​ ​ peripheral,​ ​ precarious marketplaces​ ​ in​ ​ the​ ​ Russian​ ​ capital​ ​ and​ ​ its​ ​ relation​ ​ to​ ​ the​ ​ politics​ ​ of​ ​ migrant​ ​ bodies.​ ​ While rynki​ ​ (​ markets)​ ​ continue​ ​ to​ ​ be​ ​ popularly​ ​ portrayed​ ​ as​ ​ " dark " ​ ​ places​ ​ of​ ​ illegalized​ ​ migrant labor​ ​ from​ ​ Central​ ​ Asia,​ ​ Chinese​ ​ counterfeit​ ​ goods​ ​ as​ ​ well​ ​ as​ ​ scam​ ​ and​ ​ petty​ ​ crime,​ ​ they have​ ​ been​ ​ also​ ​ hetero-cultural​ ​ laboratories​ ​ and​ ​ important​ ​ places​ ​ of​ ​ migrant​ ​ incorporation​ ​ into the​ ​ Russian​ ​ capital.​ ​ Moreover,​ ​ ​ I​ ​ will​ ​ describe​ ​ how​ ​ the​ ​ racialized,​ ​ mobile,​ ​ working​ ​ bodies​ ​ in these​ ​ places​ ​ became​ ​ significant​ ​ elements​ ​ in​ ​ the​ ​ formation​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ new,​ ​ urban​ ​ growth​ ​ machine (Molotch​ ​ 1976)​ ​ in​ ​ Moscow​ ​ since​ ​ the​ ​ beginning​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ 2010.​ ​ This​ ​ new,​ ​ urban​ ​ growth assemblage​ ​ has​ ​ consistently​ ​ tamed,​ ​ displaced​ ​ or​ ​ reabsorbed​ ​ the​ ​ earlier,​ ​ " wilder " ​ ​ forms​ ​ of commercial​ ​ informality,​ ​ such​ ​ as​ ​ ​ rynok​ ​ ​ or​ ​ ​ baraholka,​ ​ ​ that​ ​ used​ ​ to​ ​ be​ ​ one​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ dominant figures​ ​ in​ ​ the​ ​ urban​ ​ landscape​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ nineties.​ ​ Instead,​ ​ large,​ ​ urban​ ​ developers,​ ​ currently​ ​ pay tribute​ ​ in​ ​ the​ ​ form​ ​ of​ ​ spectacular​ ​ investments​ ​ into​ ​ the​ ​ city's​ ​ infrastructure​ ​ in​ ​ exchange​ ​ for maintaining​ ​ lower​ ​ transaction​ ​ costs​ ​ of​ ​ curating​ ​ precarious​ ​ migrant-led​ ​ businesses​ ​ in​ ​ several marginal​ ​ ​ torgovyj​ ​ centr​ ​ ​ (trade​ ​ halls).​ ​ This,​ ​ I​ ​ will​ ​ argue,​ ​ is​ ​ one​ ​ of​ ​ the​ ​ models​ ​ of​ ​ commercial marginality​ ​ that​ ​ came​ ​ to​ ​ replace​ ​ the​ ​ unregulated​ ​ trade​ ​ formats​ ​ that​ ​ used​ ​ to​ ​ characterize​ ​ the early​ ​ post-Soviet​ ​ period.​ ​ Although​ ​ irregular​ ​ markets​ ​ have​ ​ been​ ​ theorized​ ​ as​ ​ stigmatized places​ ​ or​ ​ sites​ ​ of​ ​ vernacular​ ​ cosmopolitanism,​ ​ they​ ​ have​ ​ usually​ ​ not​ ​ been​ ​ included​ ​ into broader​ ​ discussions​ ​ of​ ​ urban​ ​ development.​ ​ This​ ​ paper​ ​ seeks​ ​ to​ ​ amend​ ​ and​ ​ contribute​ ​ to​ ​ this lacuna.​ ​ The​ ​ research​ ​ is​ ​ based​ ​ on​ ​ more​ ​ than​ ​ ten​ ​ months​ ​ of​ ​ participant​ ​ observation​ ​ on​ ​ several markets​ ​ as​ ​ well​ ​ as​ ​ the​ ​ adjacent​ ​ streets​ ​ in​ ​ Moscow​ ​ and​ ​ its​ ​ suburbs.

This collection of papers on contemporary scholarship on various issues in Albanian history and anthropology covers a broad range of approaches and forms of analysis. It includes research on parts of the country that have rarely made an appearance in international scholarship, including recent research on various aspects of urban life in Albania, several chapters being set in Shkodra, Tirana, Elbasan and Gjirokastra. Issues of local self-organisation or identity processes are done justice to as well. A third core aspect that the volume addresses is the continued analysis of new and revealing demographic sources that shed light on the structure and history of the Albanian family.