“Every week, a person who used to live in Kitty would come back to see the market. Up to recently, a woman come and said she ain’t been here in 25 years and she come to see the market. She said she can’t believe what she see…eople does come back but they don’t like what they see; it’s not a pretty sight.”By Desilon DanielsThe Kitty Market can be found at the corner of Barr and Alexander Streets and extends along Shell Road.Filled with bright colours, pleasing aromas and infinite possibilities, markets are Georgetown’s oldest attractions.Decades ago, the Georgetown markets would draw the admiration of anyone who saw them. The city’s oldest markets date back more than a century when Guyana was still British Guiana. Within the city limits there are five markets, all named after the wards in which they can be found – the Stabroek Market,Wholesale Jerseys China, Bourda Market, Kitty Market, the Albouystown Market (or the La Penitence Market), and the East Ruimveldt Market.Indeed, Guyana’s markets are filled with rich history. However, while there is rich documented history on the ever-popular Stabroek Market and the less popular, but also well-known, Bourda Market, the histories of the smaller markets are sketchy at best.The Kitty Market, in particular, is one somewhat shrouded in mystery.Thanks to modern technology, information is constantly at our fingerprints. However, technology is useless in finding a comprehensive history of the Kitty Market. More traditional means also reap little fruit; checks at the National Library will have you rummaging through old newspapers for just a few mentions of the Kitty Market; checks at City Council, which took over the market in 1970, would also leave you empty-handed. The National Archive was similarly devoid of information.However, that does not mean the Kitty Market is lost from memory. Indeed, the market’s past can better be found in the memories of old timers than in the pages of a history book.The Kitty Market was established in 1882, two years after the Bourda Market came into being. Kitty Market began at the railway line near the abattoir. There, vendors plied their goods from sunrise until sunset. Over time, the initial site extended until 1970 when it was taken over by the City Council. Like the Bourda Market, Kitty Market is timber-framed. It was meant to serve Georgetown’s Atlantic Coast neighbourhoods in the city’s east end. That end also contained Campbellville,Wholesale Jerseys Online, Bel Air and Prashad Nagar.Physically,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the Kitty Market was a beautiful structure. Like other markets at the time, Kitty Market had a clock. Its clock was one of the two electric public clocks to be found in Georgetown. This clock was centrally located above the market’s offices. To date, the manufacture date of the clock is not known but it is known that the clock was made by the English firm, Gillett and Johnston.Meanwhile, though it was smaller and less popular than the Stabroek and Bourda Markets,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, Kitty Market nonetheless thrived.Those who witnessed Kitty Market in its glory days recall that, like its predecessors, Kitty Market was always in abundance of goods and services. It did not matter what your needs were; from shoe repairs, to clothing, to furniture – Kitty Market had it all. Each day, throngs would flock to the market, drawn to the seemingly endless options offered by the market.But the market went beyond simply providing goods and services. For many, it was the opportunity to converse with others and to make lifelong friends. At a time when televisions did not exist, the market provided all the entertainment one could need. Even later when televisions made an appearance, the market had the edge because it provided human interactions, something that was more appreciated decades ago.The market also presented a forum for the average citizen to discuss what was happening in the country, whether it was in the realm of politics or sports. Even when the conversations sometimes became too heated, you would nonetheless see the arguers back at the market again together soon afterwards, ready for another discussion.These days, things are much different at the Kitty Market. What was once a bustling commercial area now resembles a ghost town – save for the homeless persons, of course; what was once a source of pride is a common eyesore.The change is particularly difficult for vendors who depend on their earnings from the market to sustain their families.When Kaieteur News recently visited the Kitty Market, only a handful of vendors were around. Inside, three vendors sat, peering out for customers. A few others tried their hands at selling fruits and vegetables outside.Amongst the few vendors around was Chandrashekar