The grandest bazaar

 
THE first time I visited Istanbul there were only two items on my sightseeing to-do list.

I wanted to see the Grand Bazaar and the Blue Mosque, and with only a single day to see as much of Turkey's largest city as I could - I was on a ship with Istanbul squeezed between two Greek island - I got an early start and headed across Galata Bridge to the Old Town.

The Blue Mosque was soon scratched off my list, as all roads seem to lead to Istanbul's most famous religious structure with the six minarets filling every view of Sultanahmet, and I managed to duck inside between scheduled prayer sessions to enjoy the cool and the calm of the ancient sanctuary.

Then it was off to the Grand Bazaar, after regrouping over a Turkish coffee so strong the spoon almost stood up in the tar-like liquid, and I was psyched to engage in a little haggling to secure a couple of Turkish treasures.

Directions were sought from a member of the tourism police, and when he told my travelling companions and I that the Grand Bazaar was closed on a Sunday we just assumed he was a jolly chap having a joke with the folks from out of town.

So we headed off in the general direction, reasoning there was no way the world's biggest indoor market would be closed on a Sunday, only to find lots of deserted lanes and closed shutters when we approached the market precinct.

Bugger, no Grand Bazaar, no haggling, and no Turkish treasures.

When I discovered I'd be returning to Turkey, with my itinerary putting me in Istanbul for a whole lot of days and only one of them a Sunday, I pencilled the Grand Bazaar in as the first thing to do.

So this morning, a very sunny Saturday, I grabbed my camera and headed into the Bazaar District to finally explore the world's most famous souk.

 

For the next couple of hours I explored the warren-like network of passageways and alleys, wandering past stalls selling everything from delicate lamps and colourful ceramics to Turkish towels and handmade carpets, and dodging vendors intent on enticing me into their stores and parting me from the Turkish lira in my pocket.

The Grand Bazaar was established in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet II as "the trading heart of the empire" and in addition to an assortment of shops staffed by traders from around the region there were banks and cafes, accommodation for travellers, mosques, a bathhouse and even a school.

 

Not many of those original structures still stand today, as the sprawling complex has been destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries with earthquakes and fire doing the most damage, but the place still has a healthy helping if historic charm.

The covered market sits at the heart of the Bazaar District, with more than 4500 stalls set below vaulted ceilings, but the retail precinct extends in every direction and a maze of lanes accommodate even more traders.

There are 61 covered streets in all, with the alleys named after the goods originally traded in that part of the souk, and those in the know estimate that 30,000 vendors do business with 300,000 customers these days.

Walking around the souk, looking at all that stock and all those people waiting to do sell something, made me wonder how anyone could make a living in that place.

But they do, and they have for a few hundred years now.

 

 

Location:Börekçi Ali Sk,Fatih,Turkey