Zafer Çarşısı (Zafer Bazaar) in Çorum
Zafer Çarşısı is a shopping centre that opened in 1980 and holds the title of Çorum’s first multi-storey bazaar. It houses 176 shops within a 12,000 m² enclosed area and employs nearly 500 people. As the first link in the city’s modern retail history, it shaped a whole generation’s perception of “shopping in Çorum.”
History
The bazaar’s story is based on a cooperative initiative. Its foundation was laid in 1972 by a cooperative led by local merchants Mehmet Sıkı, Gazi Alakoç and Cahit Bayrak, and after eight years of construction the bazaar opened for business in 1980. With an escalator — a first for Çorum at the time — it drew crowds from across the region.
In the 1980s and 90s, the bazaar was more than a place to shop: in a city that sent workers to Germany, it was the meeting point of “leave travellers” — the symbolic place where migrant workers returning home for their holidays reunited with family and friends.
What Can You Find?
Spread over four floors, the bazaar offers a wide range of products:
- Shoes and textiles
- Jewellery and diamonds
- Perfumes and cosmetics
- Electronics
- Gifts and souvenirs
- Cafeteria and social areas
The bazaar is open seven days a week, 07:30–22:00.
Zafer Çarşısı and a Changing Çorum
From the 2000s onwards, new-generation shopping centres entering the city — above all AHL Park — changed consumer habits. Zafer Çarşısı lost part of its former popularity in this transformation, but with its central location, affordable prices and shopkeeper culture it remains a living part of the city’s commercial fabric. For the bazaar culture of Çorum in general, see our Shopping and Bazaars in Çorum page.
Contact
- Web: zafercarsisi.com
- Email: zafercarsisiavm@gmail.com
- Location: Çorum city centre