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Some Covered Market! Called simply the Kapali Çarsi (Covered Market) in Turkish, the Grand Bazaar has thousands of shops and all the makings of a small town: police station, mosques, restaurants and tea houses. If you don't travel to Turkey to shop, you must experience it. I enjoy just wandering here, particularly on the "back streets" away from the shops selling souvenirs, carpets and leather apparel at which the touts can be annoying. On the back streets the shopkeepers sell everyday items (often in wholesale lots). It's quieter and, well, more Turkish. The market district actually extends from Beyazit Square all the way downhill to the Golden Horn at Eminönü by the Egyptian Market. Streets such as Uzunçarsi Caddesi (Street of the Long Market) and Hasircilar Sokak (Street of the Mat-Makers) may not have elaborately painted arched ceilings, and my get damp when it rains, but they have wonderful slices of real Turkish daily life. |
