I have been in the latter, north of the border :)
Was it also filled with stray dogs and 32° weather?
Doesn't it mean something like market city?
It's has the root word for "trading" in it!
I'll take 32° dry weather over 27° humid any day. Stray dogs depends... in the city or market they are usually not territorial with humans. But e.g. in Taiwan there were some in the cemetery and in Singapore some near some farms, and they were really territorial; no fun trying to get to a control in their territory. But the ones at markets only want hand-outs.