Kawran Bazar in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Kawran Bazar is a massive wholesale market located in the center of Dhaka, and one of the largest wholesale markets in South Asia by some accounts. While it technically operates 24/7, some of the liveliest times are in the middle of the night and wee hours of the morning. 2 am fruit auction, anyone?

Kawran Bazar serves as a wholesale hub for Dhaka’s essential food commodities. According to one source, the market handles a whopping 57% of the city’s daily vegetable supply, not to mention the masses of fruits and other products. There’s an entire section dedicated to meat, with livestock waiting to be slaughtered upon purchase and fish being descaled by hand.

Train tracks run alongside part of the bazar, with vendors peddling goods on the tracks only to remove and replace them each time a train moves through. It is not uncommon to see Bangladesh’s infamous “train surfers” atop the cars as the trains whizz by.

Kawran Bazar clears out by mid-morning, when the area transforms into a central business district, supporting commerce of a different source. Stalls are replaced by parked cars and vendors by businessmen; the area is home to several Bangladeshi newspapers and television channels, as well as a university campus, hospital, and mall. 

Kawran Bazar dates back to the 1780s, when it was established by the Marwari trader Kawran Sing. Sing migrated from India to Dhaka during the early years of British colonial rule in Bengal, and was a prominent merchant expanding trade routes during the change in rule. Today, Kawran Bazar is still a vital commercial center for Bangladesh. The Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan even designated it as a prime commercial business zone, slating it for urban renewal and structured expansion in its 1995 plan.