Speak of the Bazaar in Rephidim and though there are more than ten market squares and streets of shops, everyone knows just what you mean -- the sprawl of "temporary" shops, wagons, and merchants sitting on their rugs with their wares to sell, where the people who sold you a sword yesterday may be gone tomorrow before you can sue them. Shopping the Bazaar is not unlike dipping your hand into a hurricane full of junk and treasure, and seeing what you get -- besides cuts and bruises.
Kavis predominate in the Bazaar, and you'll often find three separate shops sharing the same space: a restaurant being open through the evening, then torn down and disassembled by busy ferrets, then a pawn shop opened on the same space during the early morning hours, then replaced by a produce display for the freshest fish and fruit from the airships. The space the Bazaar occupies is officially reserved for expansion of the city, but the city guards are paid well not to take official notice. Shopkeepers must often pay gangs (sometimes several gangs contesting the same territory) to allow them to stay on some land. With the rent driven so high, Kavis can't afford to let a shop stay idle just because no one wants to buy anything at that hour.
There is no guarantee of quality in the Bazaar -- you get what you paid for. If you don't like it, or if you think the shopkeeper cheated you with a bait and switch, then your only recourse is to either find the shopkeeper and beat him up, or to pay an "agency" to make good on the deal. Kavis tend to be honest, but the same can't be said for the shadier species sharing the Bazaar.
It's common for a Bazaar shopkeeper to ask "gehnoh?" This is short for "Good enough?" in Rephidim Standard, and means that they've probably given you a little less than a full measure-- if you say yes, then the deal is done. Beware! Sometimes shopkeepers will mix "gehnoh?" in with a spate of some other talk to try and get you to agree.
Entertainers often perform in the Bazaar for a little money. It's all part of the fun and the spectacle, and the locals will be more impressed by people who put on a good show; dance with them and they'll be more willing to protect you if the cops come looking. Treat them like scum and you're the next one up to be framed.
The architecture of the buildings is as much a mish-mash of styles and ages as the collage of booths and tents set up in their shadows. Over the untold centuries, there have been attempts to renovate this street here, or to build something there, and a collapsed tower may later be given a thatched roof and the holes in stone walls filled with brick and mortar. Not only do winding streets cut through the Bazaar area, but in some sections there are upper-level catwalks, bridges and elevated plazas bridging rooftops up and away from the milling crowds, connecting the buildings and traversing the streets.
While most of the stores are transient in nature, there are still a few who have made arrangements to have more permanent settlements in this part of town. While the nature of the Bazaar isn't conducive to regular business, there are still some shekels to be made by a considerably more established and stationary vendor.
Although the Bazaar changes from day to day, there are still a few noteworthy "sites":