You had to know I would find a market. 😂 And boy, is it every fantastic! I had so much fun, interacting with the vendors and looking around, I can’t wait for next Sunday to arrive. This post will be two parts, there is just so much to show you from the best Sunday Pinarbasi Pazar market.
Getting There
I’ll put a google maps link here, hoping that anyone that wishes to, can find this lively place. It is a large covered area, during the week, a parking lot, but on Sundays, from 8am to 8pm, an exciting market. Located in the Konyaalti neighbourhood, I believe these same vendors may travel around to different parts of Antalya on other days of the week.
Fruit
This post will concentrate on the fresh food. The second post will be everything else. I love fruit so much, but sometimes it doesn’t love me back. At this point in my life, I eat a small portion and enjoy it to the fullest. But my eyes are still drawn to the bright colours and sweetness of fresh fruit on display.
I was so overwhelmed by the sheer volume and variety of fruits available at the Pazar. So many varieties of grapes! And the bunches are the largest I have ever seen. One sweet vendor let me taste all of her varieties so I could pick the one I liked best. 😊
The bananas are local! They still have the dried flower at the tips and I could see sellers cutting them from the ginormous bunches. And oh my, the peaches! Again, another vendor gave me slices of his peaches and melon to try. I literally had water dripping down my face and hands, just from a small slice.
I have never had such juicy fruit as I tasted this day.
Vegetables
Such a huge variety and in enormous quantities! There were crates and crates of leafy greens piled higher than a human. Everything was so fresh, bright and alive looking.
Hills of beans, avocados, potatoes, onions, you name it they had it. I love to see how different countries arrange their goods to ply folk into purchasing from them. Some are so artful with little added leaves or a contrasting coloured piece placed every so often.
Seafood
I was not expecting to see fish at this market, not sure why though. Here are at least four vendors with large stands all selling so many species of fish and seafood I had no idea what I was looking at. The fish were uniquely displayed in that most were placed on a crushed ice-covered slanted shelf. Buckets were placed at the corners to catch the melting ice water.
It is a great method for display, as the shoppers can see everything available. Other vendors had large round trays with their little fish placed in.
I took so many pictures it has been very difficult to narrow them down for this post. The colours, sights, sounds and smells were overwhelming in the best of ways. Every single vendor I met was super friendly to me. One fella even showed me what he was eating for breakfast! I had the loveliest interaction with him that I will never forget. Bring on next Sunday, can’t wait to go back to the Pinarbasi Pazar.
