In some ways its hard to believe a year ago lily was kicking away in my tummy as I entered my third trimester. A few months before that Mark and I flew to Istanbul, Turkey for five days to celebrate my coworkers wedding. I shared a few snaps at the time in my aptly named post Istanbul Highlights from Our Long Weekend in Turkey but today I wanted to dive into two of my favorite places we visited – the Spice Bazaar and the Great Bazaar, the most famous of the Istanbul bazaars.
For the first two nights of our trip we stayed at the Orientbank Hotel Istanbul, Autograph Collection in the Fatih district which is only a few minutes walking to either bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is arguably the most famous with dozens of souks & market streets peddling leather, jewelry and various gifts. The Spice Bazaar, as you might guess, sells spices along with tea, nuts, edible treats, and other handmade Turkish crafts. Both Istanbul bazaars date back hundreds of years and are sprawling network of indoor mazes which are very easy to get lost in. Both are dimly lit and the the yellow light made it hard to take photos plus stopping to snap kept holding Mark up. Thus I have tried to adjust many of them in photoshop so you can get the idea of the actual color of these vibrant places. Take a look.
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Beautiful colored Turkish pottery for sale
Loose spices of every kind – we saw a great deal of Iranian saffron, cinnomon sticks, cardamom pods, star aniseeds along with a great variety pepper – from pepper flakes that range sweet to very spicy to red pepper and pepper falkes.
Sengor Carpets in the Grand Baazar – A five generation family shop sells carpets from all over Turkey.
Gold and silver jewelry for sale in the Grand Baazar
Loose fruit tea on offer
Turkish national flags hanging in the Grand Bazaar
Vintage pocket watches from Longines and Rolex in the Grand Baazar
Turkish Delight in the Spice Baazar
Inside a carpet shop
Colorful diamond and gemstone rings for sale
Dozens of spices at the Spice Baazar
Turkish Handicrafts and Souvenirs at the Grand Baazar
Would you want to visit the Istanbul Baazars?
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Mona says
Hmm I definitely would’ve tried to find a way to bring one of the smaller rugs home with me. They are so colorful and what a wonderful memory of a fantastic trip.
Those pocket watches were really interesting looking as well. I’m wondering if you could almost make a necklace out of them as I really wouldn’t know what to do with the pocket watch other than that. Again, another wonderful memento from a trip. You do travel to the best places.
Rosalie says
The ceiling painting on that bizarre is outrageous. I would love that in a room in my house. Such an enchanting place to go. The smells and the sounds must’ve been fantastic too.
I always love reading about all the fantastic places you have visited and keep adding some to my bucket list. Happy new year..
Shelly says
It’s really a beautiful place. So colorful and such a variety of things to buy. I would almost have needed to purchase a new suitcase to bring home. Lots of goodies. It would be really hard to control myself I think.
Amanda says
For sure, looks like a high end giant flea market.
So colorful and so much unique wares. Will have to get there one day.