Old Bazaar & Bezisten
Стара битолска чаршија
One of the largest old bazaars in the Balkans, with the stone-vaulted Bezisten market at its center. Cobbler and coppersmith workshops are still in business today.
In Ottoman times the Bitola Old Bazaar had over a thousand shops, and today it still preserves clusters of narrow lanes and traditional workshops: tailors, cobblers, goldsmiths, copper shops, and grocery stores selling pickles and dried fruit. At its center is the 15th-century Bezisten, a stone-built indoor market with a vaulted roof, entered through four iron gates, which in the past stored valuable goods. Small taverns are also found in the bazaar, where you can eat grilled meat rolls (kebapi) and burek pastries. Admission is free, and the bazaar is busiest on weekday mornings from Monday to Saturday. It lies north of the clock tower, about 5 minutes away across the bridge.
Opening hours
About 08:00–20:00 (often closed Sundays)
Nearby sights
- Yeni Mosque
- Ishak Çelebi Mosque
- Clock Tower, Bitola
- Church of St. Demetrius
- Širok Sokak
- Officers' Home, Bitola
- Heraclea Lyncestis
- Dihovo