Istanbul: Walking Tour in the Grand Bazaar

Probably the best way to describe the Grand Bazaar is to quote Mark Twain - “We went to the Grand Bazaar in Stamboul, of course, and I shall not describe it further than to say it is a monstrous hive of little shops – thousands. I should say - all under one roof, and cut up into innumerable little blocks by narrow streets which are arched overhead.” With more than 4000 shops in 64 streets and with 22 gates, the-Grand Bazaar - or Kapalıçarsı as it is in Turkish - , looks like a labyrinth. We must say that this definitely is not a shopping tour - but a walk that will lead you through shops where they sell leather goods, sweets, dried fruit and spices, jewelry, glassware, pottery, fabrics, belly dancing costumes, t-shirts and all sorts of souvenirs. We will visit workshops where you will see how gold is melt in fire, as it has been for centuries; you will witness how the craftsmen fix degrees on carats; you will see how artisans do their engraving on silver.