Istanbul Bazaar Walking Tour

One of my favorite walking tours in Istanbul is from the Grand Bazaar downhill along Uzunçarsi Caddesi (Longmarket Street) through the Tahtakale district to the Golden Horn and the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar (Misir Çarsisi).

A bonus: you get to see the exquisite Rüstem Pasha Mosque, one of Istanbul's finest architectural gems, which few tourists visit. (Be prepared to visit the mosque.)

Although the Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Bazaar are real live markets filled daily (except Sunday) with both Turks and tourists, the Tahtakale market district is 99% Turkish, and all the more interesting for those who want to get away from the tourist crowds.

This is a good walking tour for any day except Sunday, when the Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Bazaar, and many of the shops along this walking tour will be closed.

Start from the Grand Bazaar
In the Grand Bazaar, walk north along Yaglikcilar Caddesi (yah-luhk-chuh-LAHR jah-deh-see, "Street of the Handkerchief-Sellers"), the main north-south street in the bazaar. Eventually you will exit the bazaar at the Örücüler Kapisi (door, gate). Continue walking north along the short, narrow street to its end, where you jog right-left to continue walking north and downhill on Çarsi Caddesi (CHAR-shuh jah-deh-see, "Market Street"), a broader street choked with traffic.

Çarsi Caddesi is filled with shoppers, porters carrying huge loads, cars and trucks trying to deliver goods to the shops, which sell beads, firearms, luggage, mosque decorations, apparel—anything and everything.

Uzunçarsi Caddesi
Continue straight on downhill (north) on Çarsi Caddesi to its narrower continuation, Uzunçarsi Caddesi (oo-ZOON-char-shuh jah-deh-see, "Longmarket Street"), lined with shops selling turned wood, kitchen items, new and used clothing, toys, backgammon sets, and everything else imaginable.

Follow Uzunçarsi Caddesi all the way to the bottom of the hill, where it comes right to the exquisite little Rüstem Pasha Mosque(Rüstem Pasa Cami-serifi, 1561), which few tourists see. It was built by Süleyman the Magnificent's grand vezir/best friend/son-in-law Rüstem Pasha. The colored tiles inside are the most beautiful in Istanbul. Don't miss it!

After visiting the mosque, come down the steps, through the door and turn left/east (if you were coming down Uzuncarsi Caddesi you'd turn right/east) and walk along Hasircilar Caddesi ("Street of the Mat-makers"), one of my favorites, with shops selling coffee, tea, hardware, paper, dried fruits and nuts, spices, etc.

Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar
Soon you'll come to the Egyptian Bazaar (Misir Çarsisi, also called the Spice Market). Inside, the jewelry and tourist shops are taking over, but there are still lots of shops selling dried fruits, nuts, teas, spices and natural remedies. Outside, in the surrounding streets, it's still a great food market for the locals.

Over by the New Mosque (Yeni Cami) are shops selling seeds, gardening supplies, caged birds, etc., and there's always a lively street market, even on Sunday.

Have a look inside the Yeni Cami, right by the southern end of Galata Bridge, a great imperial mosque founded by Valide Sultan Safiye, the queen mother of Sultan Mehmet III in 1597, and completed by another queen mother, Turhan Hatice, six sultans later (1663).

This ends you up in Eminönü, with the Galata Bridge leading north across the Golden Horn to Beyoglu. Ferryboats go from the Eminönü docks to Asia and up the Bosphorus; and the tram line to take you back to Sultanahmet, or across the Galata Bridge to Karaköy and the Tünel to take you uphill to Istiklal Caddesi, or continue on the tram up the European coast to Dolmabahçe Palace.

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Above, belly-dance costumes for sale.
Below, a rope-and twine shop.