Turkey4U: THE GRAND BAZAAR

A huge bazaar built in the 15th century located in the middle of Istanbul's historical center. Its streets lie beneath high domes. Tradesmen tempt you to buy goods from their shops with their distinctive way of selling. Thousands of authentic items. This is the marketplace of the tale of a thousand and one nights.

After Mehmet II conquered the city of Istanbul, he gave an order to build two domed stone masonry structures (known as "bedesten") comprised of exhibition and sale stands in order to procure funds to restore the Hagia Sophia and complete it as a mosque.
Later, the top of the bazaar was covered with a tiled and vaulted ceiling. Thus, the beginning of the covered bazaar, which is undeniably one of the most significant historical sites of Istanbul, was formed approximately 550 years ago.
New shops quickly surrounded it, and the newly formed shopping streets were also covered with tiled and vaulted ceilings.
Hence, the whole area became a center for shopping. This bazaar, which is located next to the first Ottoman palace built by Mehmet the Conqueror in Beyazit, was originally intended to house shops that provided a safe place to deposit precious stones and goods of the rich and merchants at the time. Therefore, the oldest part of the present day covered bazaar was named "Cevahir Bedesteni", which means the "Jewelry Bedesten." The second bazaar, which together with the Jewelry Bedesten forms the historical core of the whole building,houses the shops selling sandal fabric that is woven with silk and cotton and thus was named "Sandal Bedesteni".
These two bazaars built by Sultan Mehmet were enlarged considerably during the reign of Süleyman.

As was the case for nearly all of the historical buildings in Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar was also affected by fires and earthquakes.
The bazaar, which was rebuilt after each of these disastrous events, has preserved its dynamic and lively nature up to the present day.
Artisans from various vocational groups have sold their handicrafts on each street of the Grand Bazaar over a long period of time.
Long ago a number of commercial rules were strictly enforced.
As a result, the streets of the covered bazaar were named after various vocations, such as Fesçiler (fez makers), Terlikçiler (slipper makers), Kuyumcular (jewelry makers), Aynacılar (mirror makers) or Kalpakçılar (fur cap makers).
Today, these names are still in use, but there is no separation of vocations within the bazaar.
The Grand Bazaar is the biggest jewelry bazaar of the world with its many jewelry and goldsmith shops. These pretty small shops sell their goods at changing prices and they are open to bargaining.
This bazaar is the center of the gold market for Turkey. The bazaar is of great significance to the Turkish economy, as it is also the main center of the free foreign exchange market. Yet, it is not accurate to view this bazaar as just a place of finance and jewelry.
When the Grand Bazaar became a tourist site for foreign visitors, specifically since the beginning of the 1970s, it turned into a very touristic place in terms of both the goods offered and the sales techniques used.
The world famous handmade carpets and kilims of Turkey, some of the most beautiful examples of Turkish silver art, souvenirs and decorations made of copper and bronze and high quality ceramics, onyx, and leather goods are for sale. Specifically, jewelry and carpets are sold with certificates of quality and authenticity.
The fact that bargaining over carpet prices is still common in the bazaar should not be read as an exploitative act against customers, but as a way to preserve the sale and purchasing traditions of the bazaar.
Expensive goods bought in the bazaar can be delivered anywhere in the world with their certificates of authenticity.
Many branches of globally known brands, boutique restaurants and coffeehouses have been opened in the bazaar in the last decade.
Thus, the Grand Bazaar has also become a popular tourist spot for traditional Turkish tastes, tea, coffee and nargile smoking.
So beacuase of all that we can say SHOPPING TODAY IN THE HISTORIC BAZAAR