THE GRAND BAZAAR

The Grand Bazaar or the so-called covered market (in Turkish: Kapalıçarşı) is the oldest and largest market in Istanbul and one of the oldest in the world.

The Grand Bazaar was built during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror between 1451 and 1481 AD The market was called the covered market because it is fully covered and contains windows that provide air and light to the place.

The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was once a meeting place for merchants from different destinations because of its location in the center of Istanbul, where it was frequented by the exiters of the Grand Mosque or arriving in order to negotiate a trade or who carries his goods and wants to sell them, whether gold, carpets, fabrics or other.

The Grand Bazaar attracts a large number of Istanbul tourists with an estimated 250,000 to 400,000 visitors a day.

Best activities in Grand Bazaar

 You can visit the covered market and get to know more than 60 sub-roofed streets and about 400 shops and the market has six doors including Bab Souk, Bab Mahmud Pasha, Bab Al-Mounajedin, Bab Bayazid, Bab Nur Osmaniyeh and Bab Urgo.

The covered market also houses mosques, bathrooms, shops, restaurants and cafes, a favorite place for tourists to buy souvenirs, antiques, other Turkish handicrafts, ceramics, colored plates and ornaments as well as hand-carved Turkish carpets.

It should be noted that the prices offered by the sellers in the Grand Bazaar outweigh the real price, so you have to discuss the price well with the seller before you buy what you want.