Epic Travel → Europe → Turkey → Grand Bazaar

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Sultanahmet District, Istanbul

Time Required: 1 – 3 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Open daily, except Sundays, from 9am – 7pm. There are currently no toilets in the bazaar, so plan accordingly (there are renovations planned to remedy this, inshallah…whether and when this will occur is currently unclear)

What’s Nearby?: Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Topkapi Palace, Great Palace Mosaic Museum, Gülhane Park

With 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world – it’s also one of the oldest. Original construction of its core started shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1455 CE, and focused on the trading of textiles and jewels. These days you can find just about everything here, with stores of certain types concentrated along certain roads (though it’s certainly not exclusively organized). It’s fun to visit the bazaar and just walk around – you’ll likely get lost, but that’s part of the fun – and it’s a wonderful opportunity for a classic cultural experience and to practice your haggling. There’s something much more satisfying about returning home with souvenirs you bargained hard for compared with something you bought at the airport on your way out. Even if you don’t end up buying, it’s worth having a proper sit-down haggle for the apple tea. That stuff is delicious.

Epic Travel → Europe → Turkey → Grand Bazaar