What I really like about The Grand Bazzar in Istanbul, is that it isn’t primarily a tourist market. It’s like a 600 year old shopping mall that sells anything that’s portable enough to be carried away. This is not a historical relic but a thriving buisness centre. As a tourist, you are very much in a minority, albeit a very attractive minority to the vocal shopkeepers.
Think imitation Levi jeans suspended next to 16th century mosaic ceilings.
When I visited the market I came specifficaly looking for clothes to take back home. I had been in the Middle East for around four months, so was a little inured to the charms of Eastern markets and architecture. Here though I found all the clothes I wanted at great prices but also found an exciting living example of Eastern market culture.
Compared to other places I visited – particularly the khan al khalili in Cairo and the alhamedya souk in Damascus, they really speak perfect English in the Grand Bazzar and have a much more acurate knowledge of the Western tourist. The benefit of this obviously is that it’s much easier to communicate what you do or don’t want. The negatives are that they know how much money you are capable of paying and are much more pushy and persuasive with their sales techniques.
Check out my review of The Grand Bazzar – I am gotiges7 – on Qype
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