{"id":2014,"date":"2010-08-23T17:44:44","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T22:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/?p=2014"},"modified":"2015-02-14T13:50:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-14T18:50:21","slug":"exploring-istanbul-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/?p=2014","title":{"rendered":"Exploring The Bazaars Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday – August 23<\/span><\/p>\n

It was Roseanne’s last morning in Istanbul. \u00a0After breakfast, we went out to do a little last minute shopping in the neighborhood. \u00a0Sultanahmet and this part of Istanbul was familiar to me now. \u00a0I could get around (almost) like a native. \u00a0It was a good feeling!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Neighborhood Shop Near the White House Hotel<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Istanbul has been a major international market place for thousands of years, one could still buy or sell anything here today. \u00a0Selling and trading are second nature to the Turkish people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A Lamp Store<\/span><\/p>\n

Roseanne’s taxi came and we sadly said our goodbyes. \u00a0It had been a wonderful cousins’ adventure. Lucky me, my adventure continues! \u00a0Jeff wanted to visit the famous Grand Bazaar!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>One Street Inside the Grand Bazaar<\/span><\/p>\n

The Grand Bazaar is a huge building located on the top of a hill. \u00a0I’m sure a bazaar or marketplace has been there for thousands of years. \u00a0The building was built only a few hundred years ago, but originally the bazaar must have been a congregation of tents. \u00a0I can imagine the horses and camels and people traveling along the Silk Road to this European port to trade with the people from the west.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Evil Eyes For Sale<\/span><\/p>\n

The Europeans sailed east to Constantinople, or ancient Byzantium, across the Mediterranean Sea to trade for goods from China and India.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Turkish Coffee Pots and Aladdin’s Lamps<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides being a great place to shop, the Grand Bazaar is also a wonderful place to take photographs. \u00a0There are interesting looking people from all over the world and lots of photogenic “stuff”. \u00a0The more aggressive salesmen try to entice shoppers into their stores, but most of them are easily discouraged with a negative shake of the head and a serious expression.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Swords, Pipes, Jewelry, and Amber Worry Beads<\/span><\/p>\n

As we were browsing the narrow passageways and looking for interesting objects to photograph, I noticed a silver bowl engraved with Armenian writing. \u00a0I entered the tiny six by six foot shop to ask the price. \u00a0The handsome young man began to tell me the history of the bowls as he unearthed several more. \u00a0He had other Armenian artifacts to sell and I finally noticed that the name on his business card was an Armenian name.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> The Jewelry Section<\/span><\/p>\n

I told him about our cousins trip to Eastern Turkey. \u00a0He told me that his Armenian grandmother was born in 1915 and was from Sivas. \u00a0Her parents brought her to Istanbul where she has lived all her life. \u00a0He said that his father knows the family history and gave me his father’s business card and invited me to contact him. \u00a0Some clients stood in the doorway so I said my goodbyes and happily left.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bargaining in the Bazaar<\/span><\/p>\n

Then we walked through the clothing and carpet section of the bazaar and I found my way to the other Armenian dealer I knew. \u00a0I thought I could give him some business, but he was engaged with several tourists and we couldn’t wait. \u00a0My cousins and I had met the Armenian man and his brother and their families on the boat trip up the Bosporus River a few weeks ago. \u00a0The Istanbul dealer’s brother and family live in Marseille!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cafe Serving Chai and Baklava<\/span><\/p>\n

We were getting a little tired so we decided to stop at a small cafe in the bazaar for a refreshing cup of “chai”. \u00a0Afterwards, we went through the sections selling fabric, clothing, Muslim hats, jeans, and tourist t-shirts. \u00a0Then we stumbled upon an enclosed courtyard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shaded Courtyard Within the Grand Bazaar<\/span><\/p>\n

Tables were set up for snacks and meals. \u00a0People were enjoying a snack and the fresh air. There were also public toilets labeled “bey” and “beyan” – men and women. \u00a0Several tourist shops lined the courtyard. \u00a0We finally found an exit and walked out into the teaming streets of Istanbul.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Red Dresses for Sale<\/span><\/p>\n

The market continues outside the Grand Bazaar building. \u00a0Every little street and passage and alleyway is full of shops selling something. \u00a0One area has bedding, another has buttons and notions, another sells Muslim women’s head-scarves and another street has children’s clothes. \u00a0The Grand Bazaar is full of tourists and the streets outside are full of locals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Down to the Spice Bazaar<\/span><\/p>\n

We walked down the hill in the other direction toward the Spice Bazaar. \u00a0It was a brilliant day and we could get a peek of the sea from the hilltop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Women’s Scarves<\/span><\/p>\n

I wondered if there were directories of the neighborhoods where different types of goods which were sold. \u00a0I imagined that the local people had to learn where to go to buy particular items.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Fragrant Spice Bazaar<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spice Bazaar is a smaller indoor market with many booths similar to the Grand Bazaar except that spices, dried fruits, candies, and herbs are sold at the Spice Bazaar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Medicinal Herbs For Sale<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spice Bazaar is located near the Golden Horn by the water, on the Sultanahmet side of the Galata Bridge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Varieties of Chai\/Tea and Spices<\/span><\/p>\n

I am sure that every spice on earth must be available at the bazaar and the interior of the building has a wonderful strong aroma. \u00a0The Spice Bazaar was always crowded with people buying spices.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>A Bazaar Character<\/span><\/p>\n

We walked through the bazaar and looked at the stalls of fragrant herbs. \u00a0Both the Spice and the Grand Bazaars are so much fun to see and experience. \u00a0There is nothing like them in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dried Fruits, Lokhoom, and Chai Caddies<\/span><\/p>\n

We left the Spice Bazaar through the main entrance near the shore of the Golden Horn. \u00a0We left a crowd of people in the bazaar and walked out into more crowds of people. \u00a0The “New” Mosque (Yeni Camil) was completed in 1663 and is the large landmark near the Spice Bazaar.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The New Mosque<\/span><\/p>\n

Some men were preparing the mosque for the evening’s services. \u00a0We passed by the “Pet Market” and walked toward the tram station.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bottled Water and Leeches For Sale<\/span><\/p>\n

There were a lot of people outside the New Mosque and the Spice Bazaar. \u00a0Several enterprising people were selling leeches, which I assume people purchase for medicinal purposes. \u00a0The black leeches were in large bottles half full of water and were climbing up the sides of the bottles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Selling Turkish “C-Star” Flags<\/span><\/p>\n

Several men walked around selling bright red Turkish flags of all sizes. \u00a0There were half a dozen people sitting under small bright red canopies selling seeds to feed the flocks of pigeons on the steps of the mosque.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Celebrating Family<\/span><\/p>\n

At the front of the mosque, there was a family strolling by with two sons who were wearing the gold and white costumes that I saw for sale in shop windows. \u00a0The boys wore white shoes, shirts, and pants. Over that were fur-trimmed capes which were elaborately embroidered with gold thread. \u00a0On their heads, the boys wore gold and white hats with feather trim. \u00a0I do not know what the costumes are called but they celebrate the boys’ circumcisions. \u00a0Apparently, Muslim people do not circumcise boys when they are babies. \u00a0The proud parents were showing off their sons.<\/span><\/p>\n

We boarded the tram which took us back to Sultanahmet and the White House Hotel. \u00a0It had been a full and interesting day. \u00a0Istanbul is an amazing city! \u00a0:-)<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday – August 23 It was Roseanne’s last morning in Istanbul. \u00a0After breakfast, we went out to do a little last minute shopping in the neighborhood. \u00a0Sultanahmet and this part of Istanbul was familiar to me now. \u00a0I could get around (almost) like a native. \u00a0It was a good feeling! Neighborhood Shop Near the White […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-istanbul","category-travel","category-turkey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2014"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8710,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2014\/revisions\/8710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gallivantinggrandma.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}