Super Market, Islamabad

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Super Market, also called Super Markaz due the Urdu word for market, is one of Islamabad's largest and most popular market areas. It offers a variety of shops including clothing, jewelry, rugs, books, and much more spread among several two and three story buildings with parking between. The shops face out into the parking lots, often with people relaxing in chairs or squatting on the ground in the shade of the awnings and covered walkways.

We spent about an hour a this market, just a few blocks from the Marriott, stopping in stores like Mr. Books and Mr. Craft. I also saw Mr. Books Too (notice the trend with stores named
Mr.?). I also saw some name brand stores with more expensive items like Nike.

This is one of the most popular markets in the city for foreigners, and the shopkeepers speak English well, are willing to display their wares, and are known for occasionally tossing in a few free trinkets if you make a purchase. I bought a few scarves here and the shopkeeper gave me a camel bone key chain.

This is one of Islamabad's oldest but best market in terms of shopping. Prices here are cheaper then Jinnah Super Market. Some of popular shops are:

United Bakery: Islamabad's oldest and popular bakery.

Shaheen Chemist : Deals in medicines and cosmetics.

Mr. Books: Well known bookstore offering great variety of books and reading material/

Kaka Sweets: The place for traditional Pakistani sweets.

Radio City: Deals in video movies, VCDS, DVDS and CDS.

Thread View Gallery: Traditional Pakistani dresses for women and handicrafts.

Floral Market: Fresh flowers for sale, many varities and colors.

What to pay: Bargain hard for whatever you buy. Some shops have fixed prices.

::: F-6's main shopping centre is another of Islamabad's older shopping centres. Its is a fairly large shopping centre incorporating the usual utilities.
List of shops.....Market
:::United Bakery
::: Landmark business of Islamabad. Offers the usual array of pastries, cakes, biscuits, breads and loads of other sweet and snackish fare. They have a loyal clientele - it is probably the largest of the bakeries in terms of size if not selection.

:::Shaheen Chemist
::: Shaheen chemists are as thorough as any chemist shop in Islamabad and offer stuff like cosmetics and Body Shop items, often at exorbitant prices. Next to it is the Watson Pharmacy, a close second to Shaheen.

:::Paramount Stores
::: Useful for the same kind of largely imported foodstuffs as found in Kohsar market but with a lesser range.

:::Kaka Sweet House
::: Well known for their local sweet dishes.

:::Radio City
::: Has the cities best collection of VHS. They also have a music section with a sketchy collection and most of the time the tapes you buy will be "home recorded" stuff which is a tad dodgy.

:::Super Sports
::: Located at the "backside" (a phrase you are going to hear a lot of meaning literally - the rear, or behind or at the back). This Islamabad's first sports shop for your athletic requirements.

:::Durrani's
::: For Art Supplies, stationary, paper and pens etc you need look no further then Durrani's, one of Islamabad's oldest and most sucessful shops. Durrani provide the most comprehensive selection of art materials available in the city and a decent range of imported pens. The staff though courteous are usually not in too much of a hurry to attend.

What to pay: Most of the things are very cheap but be careful when asking the prices & always bargain to reduce the prices....

Super Market is no doubt one of Islamabad's oldest but best market in terms of shopping. Prices here are reasonable then Jinnah Super Market. Few of most popular and best shops in Super Market are:

United Bakery is one of Islamabad Islamabad's oldest and most popular bakery.

Shaheen Chemist as the name shows deals in medicines as well as cosmetics.

Mr. Books is the best bookstore in Islamabad where you get every kind of reading material you want. Latest books are also available here at reasonable prices.

Kaka Sweet House deals in traditional Pakistani sweets.

Radio City deals in video movies, VCDS, DVDS and CDS.

Thread View Gallery deals in traditional Pakistani cultural dresses for women and handicrafts.

Floral Market iis the ideal place for buy flowers of any kind and any variety. You name it and you get it!

Ray and I haunted the area around the Jinnah and Super Markets. THese were basically two large shopping squares with all range of shops from post office to public telephone services to bookshops, food outlets and souvenir shops.

I particularly liked the idea of the "Chen One" store which had a penguin as its logo - a bit of wishful thinking in the 38 degree dry heat of an Islamabad summer! I vaguely remember the post office being in the 'Super' Market.

What to buy: We just did general shopping for stuff we would need on the trekking trip. There were a few good pharmacies in the Markets where we picked up stuff like eye drops, calcium tablets, multivitamins and rehydration solutions......

As for more exciting shopping there were some souvenir shops with lots of silver and copperware, as well as carved marble pieces and flags etc.......

I also picked up a shalwar kameez in the Jinnah Market near Chen-One, these are the comfortable baggy pants and long shirts worn by all the pakistani men, just remember to drive a bargain or you will pay too much, bargaining didn't come naturally to me but I had a bit of a go!