Istanbul Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, also known as Kapali Çarsi of Istanbul is a mystery for some and an unknown and closed box for many others. To really enjoy Istanbul, you should definitely lose yourself in the city or to become one with it, and one of the most handy ways to do this is a visit to the Grand Bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is actually a separate world in the Istanbul city. It is active, busy, indispensable for Turkey's largest city. In this location which attracts tourists from around the world and hundreds of thousands of daily visitors, one discovers not only a glorious history but also antique merchants , jewellers , tanners , carpet sellers - in a word , everything one needs . As the oldest and largest bazaar in the world, Grand Bazaar was built on the orders of Sultan Fatih, to ensure the financial stability of the Hagia Sophia museum. In this historic bazaar, located between the Nuruosmaniye and Beyazıt mosques, there are two domes called "Bedesten", Cehavir and Sandal" - the heart of the Turkish market. Beginning with its establishment and until now, the bazaar has remained the most important shopping center in Istanbul.
It consists of 61 streets whose names generally describe the different businesses that are undertaken throughout the areas of the market: Fesçiler (caps sellers) Kalpakçılar (fur sellers) Aynacılar (mirrors sellers) etc. The 1500 square meters area called İç Bedesten, and the 1,300 square meters area called Sandal Bedesten can be considered half outside the bazaar itself. Around the Grand Bazaar there are inns which, again, are actually part of the bazaar.
Today, there are over 4,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar. Most travelers who visited the Grand Bazaar in the past, portrayed it as a quiet and solemn place. Now is just the opposite. Wandering in the bazaar, you hear vendors inviting the potential customers in their stores. With these invitations, you can recognise words in maybe 10 different languages. The old style of treating customers is still valid. On the other hand, bargaining remained the basic ritual when shopping in the Grand Bazaar. This ritual is enjoyed by both the seller and the buyers.
The Grand Bazaar is also the largest bazaar of jewellery in the world. To see it all, you would have to spend at least three days in there.Less