Cheers! disclaimer: today's post does not boast of the quality of the photos, at least the part that I took on my mobile phone (what can you demand from an iPhone 4?)
So, a little prologue. On Friday, I cut my office duties a bit: I had to make a visit to the hospital, and after I finished medicinal business I ended up not far from the city central market. I will not go into details, but by the end of this week I had a completely empty refrigerator. So instead of returning back to work, I decided to go to the market 😎 and to buy food for the next week - as much as I could carry on the back of a camel (that I turned myself into).
:=)
The market consists of three parts: stalls located under the roof, stalls outside where they sell mostly season greens at a very cheap price, and other stalls where a lot of clothes, shoes is being on sale, and also any related products that may be needed in any household - you know what exactly. I headed myself directly to the greens stalls...
An interesting and absolutely unusual detail of my visit to the market was that it happened on a Friday afternoon, quite at the working hours. It turned out that Friday is a special day for Muslims (I didnt know that!), and Muslims make up 2/3 or more of all sellers at said Sennoy market.
“The best day the sun rises on is Friday. On this day Allah created Adam. On this day he entered Paradise, on this day he was expelled from it, and the Last Hour will not strike on any other day than Friday".
For Jews, the most important day is Saturday, for Christians it is Sunday, and for Muslims it turns out to be Friday,-- as I googled out later, while creating this post.
Learning something new every day - what can be better?
"Five daily prayers from one Friday prayer to the next serve as an atonement for the sins committed between them, provided that no major sin is committed... If a person performs a full ablution on Friday, cleanses himself, anoints his hair or anoints his body with the incense that he has at home, goes to Friday prayer and does not push those sitting nearby in the mosque, and will pray ... he will definitely be forgiven [committed by his sins] between this and previous Friday." #src
And so, approaching the market on my bike, in one of the yards I saw an unusual picture - spread rugs and praying Muslims, and there were so many of them that there was no place in this yard where an apple could fall! (Photo missing - because I was driving a bike).
In the city of St. Petersburg, of course, there is a Great Cathedral Mosque, but this is a big city, and I can assume that on this day it is not empty - but not everyone is comfortable to come there ... sellers can perhaps break away from their counters for 30 minutes, so they all gather for prayer near the market. Moreover, some people were running down the street - they were obviously late for the beginning of the event ... Anyway, for me it turned out to be an unusual and exciting picture!
And 20 minutes later this whole crowd was returning from prayer and crowded the all the malls. By that time I was buying greens, happened to be close and took this picture. Although my mobile phone is not very suitable for good artistic photos. :)
It's a bit of a shame it wasn't Wednesday but Friday - I could have made a suitable post for the #WednesdayWalk challenge by tattoodjay. By the way, a funny event happened there to me, that can make you smile ... but - first things first.
Shops at the market's covered area offer meat, fish, dairy products, cheese, honey, butter, cereals, biscuits and pastries... well, pretty much a standard selection.
A few shops with pickled products (I am not a big fan).
Milk, cream, yoghurt, cottage cheese...
Honey... a big variety of sorts.
The meat carcasses ...
What the market does not have at all is fresh seafood. Alas, the city is of course a port, and we have the sea, but ... this is the Baltic Sea, you cannot expect much from it, like from the coastal markets of the Mediterranean. There is also no variety of olives and olive oil, which I regret. There is also no coffee row where one could choose and buy various types of coffee, including unroasted ones. Alas. One cant have everything at once, right?
You can get some fish here, as well. But the fish stalls are not that splendid...
A good thing is that many of the products here are farm-raised, without unnecessary processing, and buying from real people who know their product and with whom you can chat, joke, trade, ask to smell and taste a portion of the product is much more pleasant than buying packaged products. in the shop. For some buyers, the process is no less important than the quality of the product and the price - it's even a kind of ritual.
I've stopped at the species kiosk to obtain what I needed.
Luxurious range! I was seduced by the tantalizing scent of cardamom, and besides, I was running out of cinnamon... It is noteworthy that the owner of this stall, of course, specializes in spices, but he is not limited to them ...
... he also sells related products, namely: homemade earthenware dishes decorated in oriental style (it looks luxurious! we already have several such bowls at home) and - knives!
Then I headed outside, to the greenery stalls.
They suggest mostly the season greens, vegetables and fruits - its always very crowdy here. Obviously, a lot of city habitants come here to buy at the most cheapest price.
This is my fave spot, where I prefer to replenish my herbs stock; usually I buy some parsley, cilantro, dill, and purple basil. (And you may see said Muslims crowd that really flooded the walkway between malls...)
See the boxes with yellowish stuff? Finally I have found some chantrelles too! Of course, I wish I better would find them in a pine forest... but I have what I have. xD
The price of chanterelles on the market varies with different sellers: from 600 to 350 rubles for 1 kilogram. Due to an incomprehensible exchange rate, it is difficult for me to re-calculate rubles into euros precisely, but I think 350 rubles will make apparently 5 euros ... if you use the exchange rate "before the special operation have started."
I bought 250 grams of chanterelles to fry them with sour cream and potatoes. Delicious dish! (Chernetine is respected by both French and Finnish cuisine...) When I got home, I photographed everything I had already bought with a full-size camera, but I'm afraid that I'm not able to complete my post now; let me off to make some special operation against said chantrelles. Part 2 will follow -- later!
| location: | St.Petersburg, Russia | July 2022 | natural light |
| camera/lens: | Canon 5D | iphone 4 | ex-jpg |
Thanks for walking with me, see you next time. Надеюсь, вам было приятно прогуляться со мной по улицам Петербурга!
All images taken by me, copyright (c) @qwerrie
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[//]:# (!pinmapple 59.925071 lat 30.318651 long 2022 sennoy market (1) d3scr)