Bogyoke Market


Bogyoke Aung San Market is a major bazaar located in Pabedan township in central Yangon, Myanmar. Known for its colonial architecture and inner cobblestone streets, the market is a major tourist destination, dominated by antique, Burmese handicraft and jewellery shops, art galleries, and clothing stores. Bogyoke Market is a popular black market location to exchange currency. The market also has a number of stores for local shoppers, selling medicine, foodstuffs, garments and foreign goods.

Stores

The ground floor and the first floor are lined with small antique shops selling old coins, bank-notes, postage stamps and medals. In the middle of the market are jewellers, selling famous Burmese jade, Burmese rubies and other precious stones. The rest are art galleries, handicraft shops, restaurants and clothes stores. The new wing of the market, across Bogyoke Aung San Market Road, houses shops that sell medicine, foodstuffs, garments and foreign goods.
The market is also known for its black market money changers, with jewellery merchants typically able to change the largest notes at the best rates. The market is closed on Mondays. The little shabby shop called "Lady Home" at the back of the market behind the Jewellery Row, near the old wooden foot bridge crossing the old circle line train tracks, makes delicious fried noodles and vermicelli dishes. For the adventurous, try the pig organs boiled and fried and then tossed in fiery chilli sauce.

History

Scott Market was built in 1926, late in the British rule of Myanmar, and although it is commonly believed to be named after James George Scott, the British civil servant who introduced football to Myanmar, it is actually named after the Municipal Commissioner of the time, Mr. Gavin Scott. After Burmese independence in 1948, it was renamed after Bogyoke Aung San. A new wing of the market was added across Bogyoke Market Road in the 1990s.
The market structure is listed on the Yangon City Heritage List.

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