Dry Bridge Flea Market

The flea market stretches along the small park by the Dry Bridge, between Merab Kostava Street and the embankment of the Kura. The bridge itself was built in the 1880s and led to an islet in the middle of the river; the channel was later filled in, the bridge was left standing over dry land and so earned its nickname. The market took shape spontaneously in the early 1990s, when people brought out their household belongings to sell, and since then its range has barely changed in character: Soviet cameras and watches, army badges and coins, table silver, porcelain, old postcards, records, embossed metalwork and carpets hung straight on the railings of the fence. A separate row is given over to paintings by local artists and handmade ceramics. Sellers lay out their goods on oilcloths and folding tables along the avenue under the plane trees, and haggling is considered normal here and part of the ritual. There are noticeably more people at weekends, while on weekdays the market is calmer and it is easier to examine the small things. For many this is the most honest museum of late Soviet daily life in the city.

On the map