Salvador's Mercado Modelo receives 300 tourists every day

Mercado Modelo—also known in English as Model Market—a traditional tourist attraction in Salvador, Bahia, reported twice as many visitors this year compared to last year. According to official figures, the market welcomes some 300 visitors a day, with a monthly average of 8 thousand tourists.

Since early 2016, the market's management has been under the responsibility of the municipal executive, which has made structural interventions, especially for solving electricity and leak issues.

Located in the district of Comércio, in the old city, the Mercado Modelo is listed by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) and is one of the spots where tourists and locals can buy arts and crafts, available across the 263 vendor stands. The market also offers leisure, culture, and cuisine options.

Despite the cultural and historic significance of the Mercado Modelo, the place is a hoard of stories about the foundation of Salvador, like the history of the Comércio district itself, and, as a result, the trafficking of enslaved people brought over to Brazil.

Due to the large number of people subjected to such conditions, the capital city of Bahia is regarded as the blackest city outside Africa. The underground level of the Mercado Modelo is remarkable for its architecture, in addition to being extremely humid—its tunnels were used for storing wine and specific goods. It is popularly believed that the underground—which is lower than the sea level and is often flooded—is remembered as the place where slaves were sent, which whets the curiosity of visitors and attracts tourists from all over the globe.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira