Grand Bazaar

Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is Turkey's largest covered market and offers great shopping: beautiful Turkish rugs, glazed tiles and ceramics, copper and brass vessels, leather, cotton and wool clothing, sepiolite pipes, alabaster bookshelves and ashtrays and all sorts of other things.

In 2018, the bazaar decided to be open seven days a week from 08:30 to 19:00 (19:00) and the same hours on public holidays. The only exception is that the bazaar is closed on the first day of the religious holidays of Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı. It will be opened for the remaining days of each holiday period.

Most guidebooks claim it has 4,000 stores. The number is certainly lower due to the merging of shops and their replacement by restaurants and other services, but there are many shops. By the way, not all of them are for tourists; Locals also shop here, providing a welcome dose of authenticity.

A dozen restaurants in the Bazaar allow you to have lunch in between shopping.

Beware of pickpockets and bag breakers in the crowd.

https://turkeytravelplanner.com/go/istanbul/sights/beyazit/grandbazaar.html

Photo: Pedro Szekely