Old Bazaar Street, Ohrid

Ohrid’s Old Bazaar Street forms the historic commercial spine of the city, running inland from the lakeside center toward the Chinar tree. Today it is a pedestrian street where locals and visitors mingle among cafés, bakeries, jewelers, clothing stores, and souvenir shops. Its polished stone paving and rows of low storefronts give it a character quite different from the steep, winding lanes of Ohrid’s hilltop Old Town.

The bazaar has served as a center of trade for centuries. During the Ottoman period it was considerably larger than it is today. When the traveler Evliya Çelebi visited Ohrid in the 17th century, he described a busy commercial quarter containing around 150 shops, several inns, and seven coffeehouses. Craftsmen and merchants worked here selling the goods needed for everyday life. Many of the traditional shops that survive along the bazaar today were constructed of dressed stone during the 19th century.

Although modern businesses now occupy much of the street, reminders of older Ohrid remain everywhere. Shops sell locally made jewelry, filigree, leather goods, copperwork, and the distinctive Ohrid pearls, alongside more conventional clothes and souvenirs. That mixture of everyday commerce and centuries of history is what gives the street its appeal: beneath the modern signs and shop windows, it still follows the path of Ohrid’s traditional marketplace.