Istanbul is a great city for a WanderShopper to visit so I was excited to hear from one of our readers who was looking for some information on shopping priorities for her upcoming trip. Truly a unique destination, Istanbul was founded at the crossroads where Eastern and Western cultures came together. This mingling of traditions over centuries can be seen throughout the city. Originally known as Byzantium, and later Constantinople, Istanbul was founded around 660 B.C. Serving as the capitol for four different empires (Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman,) Istanbul is one of the most important cities throughout history. Being an important stop on the Silk Road, Istanbul has been a shopper’s paradise for centuries.
Everyone visiting the city should plan on spending some time in at least one of Istanbul’s ancient markets. I think, my top priority would be to visit the Grand Bazaar as it is one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets. In fact, it celebrated its 550th birthday in 2011. Within its boundaries are over 3,000 shops on 61 covered streets. Each day it may see as many as 400,000 visitors so be prepared for some crowds. I chose to go first thing in the morning so it was easier to see and photograph things. Vendors are also anxious to make that lucky first sale of the day so you may find you can get some better prices then. You will find many vendors carry similar items so I think it pays to walk around and decide what you like before you start buying. I suggest getting an idea of what different shops are charging so that as you continue to explore, you can compare prices and then decide where you want to end up making your purchases. You may want to ask for a business card from a shop you like so that you will have an easier time finding it again. It is easy to get lost in the Grand Bazaar with so many turns and similar looking shops and you will want to be able to find that item that won’t leave your mind.
Most items will not have the prices marked and you will be expected to bargain for your purchases. A vendor will always ask significantly more than he is expecting to get, especially if he sniffs out (or you tell him) that you are American. I find the American asking price may be 3- 4 times what someone is expecting to get. It is ok to ask casually for a price but once you begin the bargaining process, you should be prepared to buy it if you get to the right price for you. So if you do want to buy an item, after the vendor tells you his first price, you will need to refuse it and make a counteroffer. At this point I start to have a price in mind that I want to pay. I plan on the negotiations going back and forth a few times so I do not counter with the price I want to pay. I pick something maybe half that price and offer it back. You can tell if the price you offered is too low, as the vendor will walk away in disgust and not want to talk with you. Remember, you will have more opportunities for very similar items elsewhere in the market. If the vendor tells you your offer is too low and he needs way more but is staying engaged with you, then you will know that the bargaining dance has begun. Eventually, you will arrive at a price somewhere between his initial offer and your lowest bid. This purchase price will be one where both of you feel like you won and once again, everyone is happy. Feel free to be just as dramatic in your “oh, that is too, too much” as the vendor will be emphatic that “you are robbing food from his family to pay such a thing.” Bargaining can be fun and is an important social interaction. For larger purchase items, you will most likely be offered some tea. Accept and enjoy the pleasant conversation if you are genuinely interested in something in the shop. You should also always be prepared to walk away from a purchase if you can’t come to a price you want to pay. You would be surprised how often you may find the vendor chases you down and invites you back to purchase your find at the price you want. Do have a maximum price in mind though and stick to it. You will have opportunities elsewhere for similar things.
Shopping in the Grand Bazaar can be overwhelming with so many options. If you start to feel yourself wearing down, sit down at a cafe and take a break. Enjoy some tea or coffee. Or even plan on spending the better part of a day there and stop for lunch in the market. Paying attention to your mood will help keep the experience fun as well as help you stick to your budget and price limits so you don’t make rash purchases just to be done with it. I find stopping for a snack gives me a chance to reflect on what I have seen, the prices vendors are asking and what my priorities will be. Then afterwards, I can go back to the shops and execute my plan.
Another satisfying market to visit is the Spice Bazaar. It is also known as the Egyptian Bazaar because it was built with revenues from Egypt and was finished in 1660. It is the center for spice trade within Istanbul and is the second largest covered market All of the bins and piles of spices will photograph beautifully. You will also find vendors who sell an assortment of other items and I made the majority of my souvenir purchases in this market. You can find the Spice Bazaar next to the Yeni Mosque. Rent from the tenants of the market helps to pay for the upkeep of the mosque.
Many of the larger mosques will have markets outside of them. Each mosque being an anchor of it’s neighborhood. Near the Blue Mosque, you will find Arasta Market, home to Jennifer’s Hamam. Jennifer Gaudet is a Canadian expat who opened a store for hamam supplies like pestamals for taking with you to a traditional Turkish bath. I wrote about the supplies you will need as well as Jennifer’s Hamam in an earlier post, Hamam Accouterments. Another small market I liked visiting was in the courtyard of the Little Hagia Sophia. One of the things I enjoyed most about my visit to this market was that it was a community of artists and you could walk in to each shop and find someone creating something. To me, art souvenirs are are more special when you can meet the artist and see them at work. I purchased an illuminated painting on paper of three dervishes from one woman and brought it home for framing. I had also been admiring all the stunning Iznik tiles in many of the mosques I visited and I found an artist painting tiles in that tradition in a shop there, so I purchased a couple to bring back with me.
I always seem to be attracted to textiles when I travel. In Istanbul, for me that meant some of the beautiful suzani. Usually embroidered in Central Asia, I found suzani in abundance in Istanbul and I couldn’t resist. I purchased a medium-large tapestry which I had framed (to protect it from dust and sunlight) and hung in that awkward space you see above the stairs on your way down. In shops and markets there are pieces made of many different fibers and the best will be done in silk. Your price will also increase if the piece is more detailed, larger in size or antique. This is an area where I would suggest you learn some more before you make an investment purchase. Very good quality vintage suzani are out there but there are also dealers who will misrepresent an item trying to take advantage of a green tourist. The same thing is true for rugs. I found these vendors to be the most aggressive towards me in the markets. Turkish carpets are known worldwide but their value will vary greatly again based on size, design, fiber, density and age so you will need to be able to weed out the bad candidates for yourself.
I find that in many areas I travel that there are certain symbols that represent a city or region. You will have many motifs to choose from while shopping Istanbul. I immediately noticed that the city has a love affair with the pomegranate. An artist explained to me that it was a good symbol for Istanbul as all of its many seeds were like the people of the city who are from many different ethnicity and religions, but together, they are one. At New Year’s people throw whole pomegranates against the ground and how it breaks and the number of pieces foretell how lucky the coming year will be for you. Fresh juice vendors always include large quantities of pomegranates on their fruit stands.. I also found bowls of ceramic pomegranates in many different colors. One nice shop had rubies inserted into the “cracked” open skin of another ceramic pomegranate. I purchased a light catcher paired with brass and a tassel which hangs in my kitchen window. I also purchased a red glass one that glows in the sunlight of that same window. Maybe my favorite discovery was a brass, ruby and pearl pomegranate necklace.
Another trend 
you will see in Istanbul is the nazar, or evil eye protector. One popular style of nazar is made from cobalt blue glass with smaller concentric circles of the colors white, light blue then black to look like a stylized eye. You will find the amulet hanging in windows, or at work or in a car. I know I added one to mine when I got home and it joins a sizable collection of other protectors from many destinations. I also found the nazar used subtly as a little bead added in a necklace or perched on top of a cover for a candy tray. I loved a set of marbles I saw as part of a display in an artists showroom and was sad I never found a source I could purchase them from.
While in Istanbul, I went to watch a whirling dervishes ceremony, or sema. Anyone who has ever taken ballet remembers how hard it is to learn how to spin without getting dizzy. Not only did the dervishes rotate on their own axis but they also as a group moved about the floor of the theater in a circle. The ceremony is a representation of a mystical, spiritual journey a person takes to reach perfection in the Sufi tradition. Dervishes are a recognizable motif with their long flowing robes and elongated felt hats. I enjoyed finding dervishes made out of different colors of felt. Some tall and graceful like their human counterparts, others were short and portly like the Burl Ives snowman on Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. At a gift shop, I found a silver plated dervish that spun in place on his stand when you pushed on his one raised arm. At that same store I picked up a silver candy dish with a dervish frozen in time in the center.
I will share one last trend I was really excited by, and have only ever seen, in Istanbul. I started to see, in many of the boutiques, garlands of crocheted flowers. The first I noticed were vintage pieces and included gemstones mixed in with flowers that resembled bachelor buttons. I also found a garland of lillies from that same vendor. All of his stock was hanging across a picture window dangling down every few inches from the top. Before long, I found another vendor selling garlands of fruit like raspberries crocheted together with seed beads. They displayed a number of these garlands twisted around your neck a few times like a necklace. And then suddenly, these garlands exploded and I felt like I kept finding them everywhere. I ended up bringing home a number of colors of different flowers and fruit. I have a few draped around a mirror on the back of my white, Eastlake dresser.
I have only begun to scratch the surface of all the shopping opportunities and treasures to find in Istanbul. I have posted some more of my photos to share with you in my Turkey photo album on WanderShopper’s Facebook fan page. Please remember to “like” WanderShopper while you are there so it is easy for us to stay in touch.
For those of you who have visited Istanbul before, what were your favorite finds? Where to you like to shop in Istanbul?