“On the market square near the little shops <…> there were crowded a lot of pedestrians and horsemen who had gathered from all the neighbourhoods not only for purchases but for meeting with relatives and acquaintances, to gather news and gossip; one is in a hurry because of 20 versts, afraid of being late – Why? To gaze at the crowd, to spill the whole day among the chatting people, stick his nose into all deals, sales, bargaining, all disputes, quarrels, if such happen, expose his mouth for refreshments, if offered, and return with a stock of information and a clear conscience back home.” S. M. Dudin also gave a vivid and figurative description of Central Asian bazaars after his expeditions to Central Asia in 1900 – 1902. According to his observations, the bazaars of all the major trade centres, such as Bukhara, Tashkent, Samarkand, Kokand and Andijan, were especially crowded during special “bazaar” days occupying certain days of the week.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album “Uzbekistan in historic photographs of the 19th - early 20th centuries in the collections of Russian archives” (Volume XXXVII) in the series “Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan”.
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A beautiful description of the Tashkent bazaar
The famous Russian artist V. V. Vereshchagin described one of the market days in Tashkent: