Siti Khadijah Central Market, Kota Bharu

Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah (29 April, 2017)

Siti Khadijah Central Market (GPS: 6.13008, 102.23914), or Pasar Besar Siti Khadijah, is the most famous market in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. It is a favourite stopover for photographers as the colourful items on sale as well as the attire of both buyers and sellers offer great photo opportunities. I explored the Siti Khadijah Market as part of our tour of Kota Bharu. We arrived there very early in the morning, before all the stalls were set up. So while waiting for the market to go on full swing, we adjourned elsewhere to visit the other sights in Kota Bharu.

Siti Khadijah Market is three storeys tall. It is located at Buluh Kubu, in the centre of Kota Bharu. The foundation stone of the market was laid by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, a Kelantanese prince who was also a federal Minister of Finance.

When the market building was opened by the Sultan of Kelantan in 1985, it was simply known as the Buluh Kubu Market. It was only renamed the Siti Khadijah Market in 1997, in honour of the wife of the Prophet Muhammad, a shrewd businesswoman. In a way, the renaming of the market is also to honour the many sellers at the market who are mostly women.