Sunday, June 14, 2015

Istanbul, Turkey: the SPICE BAZAAR

            Shopping around the world may be the                        same but only Istanbul has the                                                 BAZAAR

A tour with Walks of Turkey included visiting several of the bazaars.  I could spend the day here learning about life in Istanbul

But first we had lunch.  As a solo traveler I know I could not have selected all these wonderful foods without any assistance.  With countless restaurants in this area it would have been hard to pick one.


                After lunch we visited the bazaar!




First there are several bazaars.  There are many entrances.  Some feature a particular series of products.  Some are very crowded while others have casual shoppers.



 The bazaar is a series of shopping arcades.  Some are more modern and well lite.   The shoppers were mostly locals, mostly women.    There were groups of tourists as well.   Most of the shops' staff were men.


Our 'walk' allowed only moments to stop and browse but we did visit a well know Turkish candy store and sampled many of the different flavors offered:  Turkish Delight


Colored glass globes of different shapes and sizes glowed in several of the stalls.   The effect was similar to giant fire flyies and butterflies swarming over the tables.


Stacks of colorfull pottery bowls and plates.  An easy treasure to slip into your suitcase.

No square inch was spared!   But I expect the shop owner could put his hand on any item a buyer                                                                                 asked for.



Among all the shops and crowds there are small quiet places to sit and have tea.   I need to ask why the tables are short.     And do women also stop for tea?






                                                                         GOLD

                                                           An entire wall of gold





Trinkets for tourists







Spices, beans and more

Vendors were set up out in the street too




An entire store just for head scarves







                          Traditional Turkish Candy.   Each sample had a different flavor






I participated in this tour as a guest of Walks of Turkey.  The photos and the opinions are my own.

No comments:

Post a Comment