Shopping beyond comparison

Sample the Istanbul Grand Bazaar's amazing goods

When you attend the company's Grand Club, you'll be able to visit the largest covered bazaar in the world—the Kapali Carsi in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district.

This amazing place covers 87 city blocks—all under a single roof (see map below). You'd never know it was a single edifice, though; every block is so distinctive from the last that you could spend entire days and still see new places, shops and sights.

You may need a grasp of Turkish numbers as you stroll the many lanes and streets of the Kapali Carsi covered bazaar, but you'll surely reap the benefit of extremely low prices and excellent craftsmanship of much of the merchandise. The Grand Bazaar is a destination on one of our Istanbul tours.

From the marble fountain—surrounded by carpet shops, to the Sandal Bedesteni—added to the Grand Bazaar by Suleyman the Magnificent for traders in fine fabrics, Kapali Carsi is loaded with phenomenal bargains and delightful souvenirs of your visit to Istanbul.

There are cafes and tearooms to allow you rest and refreshment while you circumnavigate the bazaar. At one, near Yaglicilar Sokak, you'll find friendly games of backgammon in which to participate.

You might enjoy the bazaar's auctions—exotic luggage, carpets, furniture, ornaments and jewelry. The best silverwork is located around Ic Bedisteni, cheaper gold work is sold around Kyumcular Caddesi. Ceramics are found along Yaglicilar Sokak and off it in Cukar Han. Leather and luggage are on Kesecilar Caddesi.

During times of the Ottoman Empire, the bazaar was a vital center of the town. Consisting of an open area surrounding a covered area, the bazaar was centered around a bedesten—a large covered opening, or square—where foreigners came to trade their wares.

In Istanbul, besides filling the various bedestenis and side streets, the bazaar sprawls out of the covering into streets leading down the hill to the Golden Horn. Modern government has brought order to the sprawl but the Grand Bazaar still reeks of Byzantine intrigue and drips with fantastic bargains.

If you take time for idle chat, you may discover some of Istanbul's most colorful characters at Kapali Carsi. Unless you avoid it altogether, you'll be flattered by more attention than you ever thought possible.

Even during off—peak periods, the Grand Bazaar is interesting—the merchants support roving soccer teams and informal matches are played in the streets and alleys.

The heavy line shows the extremes of the Kapali Carsi, or Grand Bazaar, roof. This structure, dating from the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453, has repeatedly been modernized and is filled with exotic merchandise from all over Turkey, all over Europe and all over the world.