Walking Through the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul
The hotel I was staying at is close to several important places in Istanbul. Apart from the being quite affordable, these important places are actually within walking distance of the hotel. Now, I just need to find them. The closest of the important landmarks here would be the Grand Bazaar. The bazaar seems to be a staple in middle eastern countries but none more so than here in Türkiye which would be synonymous with the bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is considered to be the oldest and the largest covered markets in the world. The original structure was built in the 1400s and it was expanded over time to its current size. There are around four thousand shops here in the area. That means at least four thousand people who will bug you to go in their shop to take a look.
Lamps for Sale at the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul
There are parts of the bazaar which are open air but I decided to stay within the comforts of the indoor and air-conditioned market. If you think that this is no different from a shopping mall, you are not wrong. In a lot of ways the Grand Bazaar can be considered the first shopping mall in the world. With over four thousand shops to browse through, it can be daunting to try to go through all of them and I don’t suggest that you do. I stuck to the air-conditioned area and there were already a lot shops to see here. They sell a lot of things here but in the air-conditioned area, I can’t help but notice that most of these shops cater to the tourists. I guess that is fine since I don’t really know much about Turkish products, it would be good to see what I should be bringing back home with me.
[xmlgm {http://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/GrandBazaarIstanbul.kmz} zoom=19]