A Cultural Adventure in Kosovo: Exploring Kosovo's Local Markets

 - There are plenty of stores in Kosovo where you can buy the things you need for yourself, but even though there are plenty of big stores in Kosovo, people still are attracted to go to local markets. Local markets are places where people from everywhere can buy or sell different goods. The good thing about local markets is that you can find them in every city in Kosovo, which makes it easier for people who want to go to these local markets.

I had the pleasure of visiting local markets in Kosovo, and I decided to go to Skenderaj’s local market which is held only on Mondays. I have been other times as well, but still, every time I go, I get amazed by what I see. As soon as I entered the place, I saw a great number of goods that people from all over Kosovo were selling. At first, I was surprised, because as is seen in the photo below, there were only a few people, but then I realized that nowadays people prefer to go to known markets or buy online rather than coming to local markets. However, as I kept walking and looking, the place started to get filled by people who came to visit the local market.

The entrance to Skenderaj's local market

                                                   

What surprised me the most about local markets in Kosovo is the number of things you can find there. When I was walking around, I could see so many things that were available to buy. I saw all kinds of goods, such as apples, pears, tomatoes, potatoes, etc, then after you walk past that section, you enter another section; the clothing section. You had plenty of choices to buy, although the clothes seemed unattractive to me. However, people might say that you can find all these things in big stores too, so why bother going to local markets? Well, the reason is very simple, most of the stuff that people sell at local markets is much cheaper and the quality is much better because the sellers produce their products by themselves.

The clothes section

The electronic & sanitary section

Moving on, I went to the electronic & sanitary section. There were so many types of equipment there that made me feel not even stores possessed as much as they did. After going through all sections, I was curious to ask the people who were selling goods such as fruits, seeds, etc, if they cultivate the goods by themselves or if they get them somewhere else, and all the people I asked said that they are the ones who cultivate the goods because it is easier to sell a safe product and it is more profitable for them.

In the end, when I went around the local market, I decided to go back and try some hazelnuts, and I liked the taste of them so much that I ended up buying a full bag of them for only 3 euros.

To sum it up, I would suggest people to visit these places and buy from these local sellers, because of the quality of the products here, especially the fruits. Also, the prices for most of the products are always cheaper than buying them in stores, so by buying products in local markets, not only do you help the local sellers by buying products from them, but you also help yourself by saving more money and eating healthier.