Kawran Bazar in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Atlas Obscura profiles Kawran Bazar, a sprawling wholesale market in the center of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and one of South Asia's largest. While it operates around the clock, the market comes alive in the dead of night—two a.m. fruit auctions, vendors hand-descaling fish, livestock waiting in stalls. It supplies more than half of Dhaka's daily vegetables. Train tracks run through the market itself; vendors pull their goods off the tracks whenever a train approaches, then reset them afterward. By mid-morning, the market clears out, transforming into a business district of newspaper offices, television studios, and university buildings. Kawran Bazar dates back to the seventeen eighties, when it was founded by Marwari trader Kawran Sing, who arrived in Dhaka during British colonial rule. Today it remains central to Bangladesh's commerce—so much so that the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan designated it as a prime commercial zone in nineteen ninety-five.

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