Czech Please.: November 4th, 2013

When we set off on our last day in Istanbul I expected to spend a decent amount of money but apparently after 2 months of not buying anything for myself, I had a some pent up shopping desires. Our first stop was the Spice Bazaar. You walk in and are immediately hit with the smells of wonderful spices and teas. I have never seen such large quantities of spices in my life before and if I had any idea what was good, I probably would have bought some, but I am an amateur cook at best so no spices for me. What I did buy was some amazing tea and more turkish delight than I know what to do with.

"There are several documents suggesting the name of the bazaar was first "New Bazaar". The building was endowed to the foundation of the New Mosque, and got its name ("Egyptian Bazaar", Turkish: Mısır Çarşısı) because it was built with the revenues from Egypt. The word mısır has a double meaning in Turkish: "Egypt" and "maize". This is why sometimes the name is wrongly translated as "Corn Bazaar". The bazaar was (and still is) the center for spice trade in Istanbul, but in the last years more and more shops of other type are replacing the spice shops. The building itself is part of the külliye of the New Mosque, and rents from the shops within was intended to help pay for the upkeep of the mosque. The structure was designed by the chief court architect Koca Kasım Ağa, but completed by architect Mustafa in 1660."

(Spice Bazaar)

After spending way too much money we headed off to the Grand Bazaar. The backstreets in between the two markets are just as filled with shops are the bazaars themselves. They are full of people haggling and trying to get you into their shop. The amount of people in the streets was something and you could tell there was a lot of fake things being sold, unless you could really get a Gucci bag for about $10, but I'm doubtful.

(Istanbul)

Once we made it to the Grand Bazaar it was really interesting. It was basically a giant market full of anything touristy you could ever want, the sad part it was painfully overpriced. I was looking for some scarves and most of the ones sold there were four times the price I had paid the day before, but thanks to my amazing haggling techniques (just kidding, they don't exist) I got the prices down to where they had been before. Overall the bazaar was really amazing and had a lot of interesting things I would have loved to buy if I didn't have to transport it all home in a months time. Probably the best part of the market experience from our point of view was when we randomly ran into two guys from our program in the bazaar. After asking how they were and what they had been doing they were very excited to show us some scarves they had bought. Now, the guy who was showing us the scarves was a very tall, very pale, with blonde hair guy who is someone who you look like you could rip off. My first question was, how much did you pay and he answer with "Well it was originally 160 turkish lira ($80) but we haggled him down to 50 lira ($25)!" He was so, so proud of himself but I had a feeling he had been so badly ripped off. I asked him what it was made of because there are very different qualities and lo and behold, it was the same type I had been buying. I made the mistake of saying, "Oh, thats unfortunate" and I'm sure the looks on all of my friends faces said enough and he asked "what have you guy's been paying?" We responded with, "well, we've been buying the same quality ones for about 20 lira ($10)." The poor kids face dropped and you could tell he realized he had gotten such a bad deal, even though it was heartbreaking for him, it was good to know we had been paying amazing prices.

"The Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı) in Istanbul is one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and 5,000 shops, and attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. It is well known for its jewellery, hand-painted ceramics, carpets, embroideries, spices and antique shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by type of goods, with special areas for leather, gold jewellery and the like. The bazaar has been an important trading centre since 1461 and its labyrinthine vaults feature two bedestens (domed buildings), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake. The complex houses two mosques, four fountains, two hamams, and several cafés and restaurants. In the centre is the high domed hall of the Cevahir Bedesten, where the most valuable items and antiques were to be found in the past, and still are today, including furniture, copperware, amber prayer beads, inlaid weapons, icons, moth er-of-pearl mirrors, water pipes, watches and clocks, candlesticks, old coins, and silver and gold jewellery set with coral and turquoise. A leisurely afternoon spent exploring the bazaar, sitting in one of the cafés and watching the crowds pass by, and bargaining for purchases is one of the best ways to recapture the romantic atmosphere of old Istanbul."

(Grand Bazaar)

After we were done at the bazaars we went and got dinner and then took the long way home long the ocean. I ended my night early so I could pack all of my wonderful newly bought things up and so I wouldn't be exhausted by the time I got home the next day.