Aside from the cultural attractions, Istanbul is known for its two large bazaars – the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is a large covered market that spans 58 streets and houses thousands of shops. Wikipedia says over 4,000 but a man who worked there told us 3,500…either way it’s pretty intense. We visited the Grand Bazaar a few times, mainly because the first time we went was so overwhelming we couldn’t buy anything, just wander around hoping not to get lost. The best part of the Grand Bazaar was the things that shopkeepers would say to try to make sales. Some favorites: “It’s my turn now” (more creepy than anything), “I know what you want” (how presumptuous), “I am here!”, in response to our saying we were just looking “I’m just selling”, “I will sell you something you don’t need”, and finally “We have everything except customers!”. The Grand Bazaar has stores with scarves, clothes, carpets, leather, food, fake handbags, jewelry, antiques and more tchotchke than I’ve ever seen. I loved all the stores with worthless junk and restricted myself to one elephant souvenir. I’m maturing. Haggling is also one of the most entertaining parts of the bazaar. Here’s an example of haggling:
Shopkeeper: That scarf is 35 lira.
Us: Oh, no thanks, that's too much. [Start to walk away...]
Shopkeeper: Okay, 20 lira!
Us: No it's okay, we're just looking.
Shopkeeper: Fine, 15!
Us: [Still walking away]
Shopkeeper: Name your price!
Not very successful. We did discover that the best way to get a deal is to show them the money. We think that once they saw the money the thought of you putting it away was worse than making a smaller profit.
Grand Bazaar
I know what you want!
Scarves
Grand Bazaar
Halloween 2K11
Behind the Blue Mosque, we discovered another bazaar, this time smaller and mainly uncovered. A local man directed us there because it was quieter and had some nicer goods. He was right - we could have done damage there but restrained ourselves and only bought a couple of goodies.
Small bazaar
Down by the Bosphorus River is the famous Spice Bazaar. Also a large covered market, the Spice Bazaar is dedicated to spices, teas, coffees, candy (Turkish Delight!), nuts and other foods, as well as the occasional scarf and leather shop. The spices smell so good and are so cheap it’s insane. I got myself some rose flavored Turkish Delight and loose-leaf apple tea, which I need to find a way to get some shipped to me once I finish this bag because it is so. damn. good.
So much Turkish Delight, yum yum yum
Turkish Delight, I love you
When we went to Asia for lunch (I love saying that) on Friday we stumbled upon an outdoor market. The Asian side is much less touristy, when we were over there it felt like we were in a completely different city. There are no real tourist attractions and more people seem to live there as opposed to the European side, which seems more commercial. It was nice to get to explore a different side of Istanbul and get a feel for daily life as opposed to the touristic center.
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