Istanbul is home to a vast range of shops and bazaars. Often shops selling particular items are clustered together, competing for custom. The Grand Bazaar is a centre for carpets and kilims, gold jewellery and leather jackets, as well as ever/ type of handicraft and souvenir. Nişantaşı and İstiklal Caddesi on the European side, and Bağdat Caddesi on the Asian side, have a good range of clothes and shoe shops. The best choices for food are the Spice Bazaar and the Galatasaray Fish Market .
CARPETS AND KILIMS
One of the best places to buy carpets and kilims in Istanbul is in the Grand Bazaar , where Şişko Osman has a good range of carpets, and Galeri Şirvan specializes in Anatolian tribal kilims. The Cavalry Bazaar has many kilim shops, and Hazal Halı, in Ortaköy, is run by a wonderfully professional lady who knows the history of almost all of the carpets.
FABRICS
As well as rugs, colourful fabrics in traditional designs from all over Turkey and Central Asia are widely sold. Sivaslı Yazmacısı sells village textiles, crocheted headscarves and embroidered cloths. Muhlis GDnbattı has rare Central Asian textiles, Uzbek and Turkmen suzanis (large hand-appliqued cloths’), silk ikats, and Ottoman kaftans, as well as carpets. The antiques dealer Asli Gunsiray sells both original Ottoman and reproduction embroidered cloths.
JEWELLERY
Istanbul’s substantial gold market centres on Kalpakçılar Bası Caddesi in the Grand Bazaar. Here gold jewellery is sold by weight, with a modest sum added for craftsmanship, which is generally of good quality. The daily price of gold is displayed in the shop windows. Other shops in the Grand Bazaar sell silver jewellery, and pieces inlaid with precious stones.
Urart stocks collections of unique gold and silver jewellery inspired by the designs of ancient civilizations. Antikan specializes in restored antique silver jewellery made by Kurds and nomads in eastern Turkey.
LEATHER
Turkish leatherwear. while not alwrays of the best quality hides, is durable, of good craftsmanship and reasonably priced. The Grand Bazaar is full of shops selling leather goods. B B Store, for example, offers a good range of ready-to-wear and made-to-order garments.
Meb Deri sells designer handbags and small leather goods, and Desa has classic and fashionable designs.
ANTIQUES AND BOOKS
The best area for antiques is Cukurcuma (seep!07), in the backstreets of Beyoglu. Shops worth a visit are Asli Gunsiray, Antikhane and Antikarnas for their Turkish, Islamic and Western stock. A vast array of Ottoman antique brassware, furniture and pottery, including Turkish coffee cups and vases, are sold in the Grand Bazaar.
The antiquarian bookshops, such as Librairie de Pera sell old postcards and prints. One of the very best shops for new books is Galeri Kayseri, which sells a wide selection of English-language titles.
HANDICRAFTS AND SOUVENIRS
All types of Turkish arts and crafts can be found in the Grand Bazaar. Ideal gifts and souvenirs include embroidered hats, waistcoats and slippers, mother-of-pearl inlaid jeweller)7 boxes, meerschaum pipes in the shape of heads, prayer beads made from semi-precious stones, alabaster ornaments, blue-eye charms to guard against the evil eye, nargiles (bubble pipes) and reproductions of icons. At the Istanbul Crafts Centre ). watch the traditional art of calligraphy being practised. Rölyef in Beyoğlu, the Book Bazaar , Artrium and Sofa also sell antique and reproduction calligraphy, as well as ebru (marbled paintings) and reproductions of Ottoman miniature paintings.
POTTERY, METAL AND GLASSWARE
Hundreds of shops in the Grand Bazaar are stocked with traditional ceramics, including many pieces decorated with exquisite blue-and-white İznik designs . Other types of pottery come from Kütahya – distinguished by its free style of decoration – and Çanakkale – which uses more modern designs, often in yellows and greens. To purchase a modern piece of Kütahya ware, visit Mudo Pera which stocks a collection by Sıtkı Usta, a master of Kütahya pottery. Most museum shops also have a good range of potter)’ for sale, including reproduction pieces. The Grand Bazaar and the Cavalry Bazaar are centres of the copper and brass trade and offer a huge selection to the browsing visitor. For glassware, Pasabahçe, the largest glass manufacturer in Turkey, creates delicate çeşmibülbül vases (decorated with blue and gold stripes) and Beykoz-style ware (with gilded decoration).
FOOD, DRINK, HERBS AND SPICES
The spice bazaar is the place to buy nuts (especially pistachios) and dried fruits, herbs and spices, jams and the many types of herbal tea produced in Turkey. These include sage (adaçayı), linden (ıhlamur) and camomile (papatya). However, other foods can be bought here as well, including such luxuries as caviar. Another place with a wide variety of good quality herbs, jams, teas and spices is the Galatasaray Fish Market.
Several shops specialize in particular foods. Sekerci Haci Bekir is renowned for its delectable Turkish delight and baklava. Also popular is Bebek Badem Ezmesi, on the Bosphorus, widely acclaimed for its pistachio and almond fondants. Over the course of more than a century in business, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi has become the best known producer of Turkish coffee. The quintessential Turkish spirit, raki , can be bought in any grocery.
