We’d heard about this Grand Bazaar, one of the biggest and oldest markets in the world.
Keep your hands in your pocket, clutching your valuables. Feel the quality. Beware of imitations. Haggle and haggle hard! This place is a den of thieves and a pickpocket’s paradise – so the guidebooks say.
On the other hand, it can be fun.
There were some beautiful carpets of course, though with no chance of carrying one home with us, we stuck to admiring them.
And there’s always the colour of tea.
This is not one of those markets where merry storeholders dress themselves in their own merchandise to show customers how good it looks.
There are usually obvious reasons for this.
Oh, go on, Sir, I sure you’d look fine in those knickers.
And as for you gentlemen…how’s a girl supposed to know what a wedding dress will look like if she can’t see someone wearing it?
The coffee may not have been the cheapest available in Istanbul, but it was very good – a huge jump up on Amsterdam standard.
And it’s a wonderful place for people watching.
Mevrouw T was keen for me to try a little of the ‘Turkish viagra’ on sale below. I was concerned that a concoction containing unknown substances may be in breach of amateur athletic rules. And once you start on that stuff, who knows where it may end?
So I stuck to photography.
You will notice that Mevrouw T and I are on the road again, though this time we’ll be more on the water, cruising the Black Sea courtesy of Compagnie du Ponant.
Plenty more to come soon…
I love the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul!! The ex-Mr. TWLG and I spent three weeks in Istanbul back in the mid-70s and I don’t think we went a day without ducking in for something, or just to wander the aisles, imagining ourselves back in another time. I suppose there were Ali Barber balls back then too, but not much in the way of English signage, which rather added to the mystique, I think! Look forward to reports from your cruising …
You got some very nice shots of the bazaar, Richard. Thanks for sharing.
It’s like being there. Thanks, Richard
Great story Richard, also the pictures. All the sales men are sitting on their chairs? Funny to see.
I found a girl from Narrabeen sitting in front of her father’s rug shop right in the heart of this bazaar. What a great place!
Sorry, but the underwear store shopfront just looks weird and disturbing. Rest of it looks cool.
How you whet the appetite………!
The cafes in the heart of the bazaar are a godsend! Just as my nerves were starting to fray, I headed for a Turkish Coffee and people-watched for a while – and then headed back into the fray.
My recommendation is that if you’re in a grouchy mood… don’t go to the bazaar… or you’ll hate every minute! We were in Istanbul for 5 days, and visited the bazaar 3 times for short jaunts – that way it’s easier to keep your sanity (an smile) in tact! ~Jay
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