Grand Bazaar Istanbul to Shop or Not, Istanbul, Turkey

The Seller in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul yelled out across the near-empty market “You must be a movie star” – I am said Duncan, “but don’t tell everyone, I am incognito”. That was the first time we had heard that line in a market.

The Grand Bazaar can be confusing to find your way in and out. There are 5 gates for entry at the Turkish Bazaar:

Bazaars! We can’t get enough of them. When we had a chance to travel to Istanbul, high on our bucket list was a visit to the Grand Bazaar. Unfortunately, we couldn’t buy anything, we had sold our home and our possessions and downsized to a few storage containers of tax files and photographs. Our life now as roving retirees means that we have also downsized our luggage to a carry on only which restricts us from buying anything as well. We just love the experience!

The Grand Bazaar Istanbul is one of the oldest shopping malls in the world. What you can see today is not how it all started out. When the Ottomans took over in 1453 it was several markets sitting next to one another. The Ottomans created one covered market which was made up of 61 streets, 4,400 shops, 2,200 workshops, 18 fountains, 40 inns, 12 small mosques, 12 warehouses, 1 school, 1 Turkish Bath and 19 water wells. Wow! That is one big market! ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).