Grand Covered Bazaar, most attractive shopping center and the biggest "souk" in the world with nearly 4000 shops selling antiques, jewellery, gold, carpets, leatherware and souvenir. (Art demonstration of handmade Turkish carpets upon request)
Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar), mystical smells of different aromas of various spices. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers etc.
Sultan Ahmet Center", the heart of the "Old City" from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled.
Beautiful and engaging to all senses. Got some amazing spices at good prices. Some tourist traps especially in gift shops But a must see and smell and feel experience
An absolutely fabulous experience with Aik our guide. He made Istanbul come alive. He was so knowledgeable on the history of Turkey and personable. We highly recommend the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market tour. You won’t be disappointed.
A wonderful intro to Turkish customs with excellent choices and suggestions for shopping. Ike made the Grand Bazaar a relaxing experience.
The tour did not include hotel pick-up which was not convenient when you cannot speak the language but once we found each other, the guide Muriel did an excellent job of showing us the spice Bazaar, a Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. However, since was only a half day SHOPPING tour, the Mosque visit took too much time away from our limited shopping experience. Muriel spoke excellent English and tried to get us the areas of our interest, but the Bazaars are huge and takes more time than is available. Muriel directed us to authentic Turkish cuisine for lunch that was excellent.
Prepare to be hassled and completely ripped off!! They are shameless and will completely rip you off. They also sexualise women. Would not advise being a solo woman traveller. And be careful buying tea from the spice bazzar. I had to throw all mine out when I got home as I found bugs all through it! Literally money thrown in the rubbish!
DO NOT TAKE THIS TOUR! My tour guide provided almost no information about the history of the bazaar, and took me to an offsite store where I was expected to spend over $500 on a counterfeit designer handbag while my guide sat down and was served coffee - I assume she got a kick-back by bringing tourists to this store. When we finally arrived at the bazaar, she spent the entire time staring at her phone and I finally dismissed her and continued my tour of the site on my own.
Strange tour. Instead of Bazaar my son and my mom were initially taken to a clothing store with brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci. Also, they were offered fur coats. My son lives near Florida. He definitely does not need any fur coat. Only after talking to the guide for some time, they were taken to Grand Bazaar. The guide did not explain much of anything. The whole tour was over in 1-2 hours. No spice market at all. My son said he could have gone to the Bazaar without any guide just fine. So waste of your money. Also, everything there is overpriced. You can buy it cheaper elsewhere.
I hadn’t thought much about the reservation when I booked. The tour guide, Ertugrul, was excellent. He was personable and interested in finding what we were looking to see and purchase. Other tour guides had tried to pressure us into situations of which we weren’t interested but Ertugrul had connections in the bazaar and showed us the quality places for things we were seeking like iznik ceramic pieces. We weren’t looking for brand named fashion items or rugs which you can certainly find there. I only wish I bought a few more things because the quality and price was better than in other places. I didn’t have any problem getting tea and spices through US customs. The driver was also very good but I did not catch his name. All in all, a great experience. If you think you’ll pick up souvenirs that you didn’t get while in Istanbul at the airport be prepared to pay double or triple. I was told this is because the airport is heavily taxed. Bring cash for tips of driver and guide. They all seem to accept euro, USD and lira.
The memorable moments is when the guide just left us on our own. Not a very attentive guide. He then implied that we weren't where we were supposed to be at the meeting time.
Purchasing things we liked and the guide took us to the shop of our interests. The walking was good ., so was the vehicle sent for our pick up
The place is really interesting, fascinating, colorful and lively. Definitely worth a visit. But be careful, whatever you buy here you'll pay at least double respect to what you'd pay in a shop anywhere else out of the heavy touristic areas.
Great Bazaar, I liked this bazaar more than the grand bazaar,, but as every where in Turkey you have to bargain. the ALLADIN sweets were great ,, like the second store,, turkish sweets made with honey,, I also find that if you walk straight you can reach the grand bazaar, on that way you can find lots of wholesaler for scarf.. so you can buy in bulk ,, cheaper..
I have not seen so many people crowded at one place. Better go there early in the morning. It is very interesting there!
While buying minimum get price of 30% of first price a seller offers. In asian side you will find same products and way way cheaper. The quality is very very poor. Clothes and bags we brought got broken within a week. Total turist scam!! Do not trust these lying and agressive turks! TERRRIBLE PLACE
Imagine a place where people have been shopping for over 600 years! There is everythng from Turkish coffee sets to rugs to elegant scarves, and of course, Turkish Delight. It helps to go with a guide so you don't overpay for items.
The first thing to note is that there are many entrances to this Bazaar and they also have security when entering, so you have to go through a metal detector. they don't really check anything i went in with a pram they didn't really say anything and didn't check my bags. The Bazaar is very busy and the closing time is around 7pm. Advise: The prices in the bazaar are actually more than you would find outside the bazaar. So i recommend shopping outside the bazaar on the street markets. they are generally around 20-30 Lira difference. when you enter the Bazaar you will see the sweet/savoury sections. they are a absolute rip off. do not buy for more than 60 lira for 1 kg of Turkish delights. they will quote you from 120-90 lira. Trust me you can get it cheaper with them or somewhere else. The decorated tea sets they sell for 120 lira. BUT you can actually go to the supermarket and get the same set for 10 Lira!!! there are a lot of fake cloths, bags, shoes etc. if you decide to buy them always remember they will quote you 3 times the actually amount they are willing to sell for. so don't be fooled! the bazaar is huge place with similar shops just in different places. its worth a visit just to see what all the fuss is about. snapchat movement of course. I have actually found better exchange rates in the bazaar than outside. the food around the bazaar is expensive. you can get the same even better food on the side of the streets away from the touristy bits. i ate at the restaurant right outside and paid over 120 Lira for kebab and rise, and a Turkish pizza. i went outside the busy bits and got 2 large kebab wraps, chips, pizza and some other dishes i forgot what you call them plus tea and cakes enough for 4 people (2 of us only, since am going holiday might swell put some calories on) and only paid 56 Lira! which is about £6 Bargain! (exchange rate was 8.2)
I entered gate 5, then looking around some small shops. I decided to buy a suitcase and I ask someone how much, how’s the quality, his asking price is 300 lira and it’s high quality made in Turkey. I bid and I pay 200 lira. It looks good and strong, but when I return home, the zipper is broken and two big cracks. The suitcase that I bought is disposable. Iam very very disappointed. :(
I walk around, looking to all stuff and I change dollars too. I noticed that you must be good in bidding, so you can get the best price that you want.
<p>Highly recommended! Yldray was awesome. Showed us where the best baklava is, Turkish delights and more. Prepare to woo your senses. Come with an appetite. I didn't know we were starting with the baklava so I ate breakfast. I could have tried more sweets. This is the only way to navigate both bazaars</p>
Beautiful and well-maintained; I liked it more than the Grand Bazaar. Remember to haggle the prices down by up to 70 percent!
Our guide today was very knowledgeable very in control very soothing. He guided us and taught us about the historical and social situation of the bazaar. We bought tons of spices but did not put pressure on us to choose one seller or another. He simply did the translation and accompanied us. We have learned about the mores of the people of the region. It was very instructive. He picked us up at our hotel and drove us there in a minivan.
Giant bazaar, shops are grouped according to offer. Very touristy but also the locals come here to shop, especially in the adjacent streets just outside. Not too pushy. Reasonable quality clothing, cheaper than at home but of course fake (sometimes difficult to see). Bidding is an art, try!
tour, look, give taste and pleasure to the sense of sight of the wonders of Istanbul in the place, probably most emblematic of Turkish culture.
Istanbul’s GRAND BAZAAR, considered the largest business location on the planet, with more than 550 years old, and with more than 4,000 stands, where approximately 25,000 people work.- A place where you can find all kinds of items, both original and fake, merchants ask for a figure, and they love to haggle, and finally sell it for a price of 50% less, the stand of the species, is a fabulous place.-The mazes, the smoke of cigars, and the friendliness of Turks offering tea, lemon or apple, give the place a special warmth.- It is the most visited place on earth, estimated that annually is visited by about 90,000,000 tourists.-When visiting Istanbul, it is almost an obligation to visit the Grand Bazaar.-
The Bazaar or spice center (Egyptian) is really amazing for its smells, colors and flavors very good and unmissable if you are in Istanbul, the Grand Bazaar is amazing for all the trade that has its doors, the People, everything!! It is a must-see visit of at least 1 day Complete for its size and number of shops. Both 100% recommended.
Apart from the fact that Istanbul is a continuous bazaar and you find it hard to understand that you left the Grand Bazaar and entered the Egyptian bazaar, one thing is certain that if you are at the Egyptian bazaar you can not miss eating roz maamar a sweet and savory rice omelet with a unique taste made on the spot. I'd go back to Istanbul just for that.
Tidyer than ever. More modern and businesses converted into display cases and shops. Pleasure for the senses. The species, the places to drink a rich Turkish coffee and the couple of good rest inside make the Grand Bazaar an impossible place to miss and tour. I recommend getting lost in its inner streets. There are leather areas, clothing, carpets, imitations of luxury brands and jewelry stores that are wonderful.
The large Bazaar is one of the largest in existence, labyrinthine and with lots of shops, although, perhaps, some shops have remained very for tourists. You need to visit on a first trip to the city.
If you go to Istanbul you cannot stop going to the Grand Bazaar, even if you do not buy anything (almost impossible). Ideally, go early, to slowly walk its streets, haggle tooodo and marvel at the smells and colors. Of course, there are some Chinese things. I bought a beautiful leather jacket, on my way home I saw a tiny label with its origin. I went in September 2017.
It is a very big and very nice place, go with time to walk through the different pavilions, the prices are accessible, you have to haggle to get even cheaper prices,
In my opinion it was a great visit to the grand bazaar, you have everything, clothes, bags, watches, gold, souvenirs, shoes and various prices and qualities of course, ALWAYS haggle to the sellers you will get it at least 40% cheaper, and also better qualities in houses that take you apart,visit if you want to buy that you do not have to lose
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