Spice Bazaar, Istanbul was constructed in the 1660s as part of the New Mosque complex, with rents from the shops going to support the upkeep of the mosque and its charitable activities. It was called the Egyptian Market (Mısır Çarşısı), because it was famous for selling goods shipped in from Cairo.
Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı), Istanbul
Enter the Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Market from the northernmost entrance, where Tahmis Sokak meets the square in front of the New Mosque. The bazaar was built by the Valide Turhan Sultan in 1660, build and the architect was Kasim Ağa, as part of the New Mosque complex; its name derives from the goods that were once sold here, having arrived by sea via the annual ‘Cairo Caravan’. The brick walls and high, vaulted ceilings give it all the allure of the Grand Bazaar, but at a fraction of the size.
In the old days there were sold here drugs of all kinds, prepared medicines, useful herbs and spices beyond number, with flowers, seeds, nuts and perfumes. It was in fact an important oriental market.
The bazaar’s stalls brim with heaps of brightly coloured herbs, spices, tea leaves, nuts and lokum (Turkish Delight), as well as copious amounts of honey, olive oil and caviar, and even the odd pot of the aphrodisiac “Turkish Viagra“. Also peppered around are stalls selling natural soaps and sponges, ceramics, jewellery and scarves.
Used to a steady influx of tourists, the vendors can be tiresome and their prices often inordinately high. As well as spices, nuts, honeycomb and olive-oil soaps, the bustling spice bazaar sells truckloads of figs, lokum (Turkish delight) and pestil (fruit pressed into sheets and dried).
Although the number of shops selling tourist trinkets increases annually, this is still a great place to stock up on edible souvenirs, share a few jokes with the vendors and marvel at the well-preserved building. Most of the shops offer vacuum packaging, which makes it easy to take souvenirs home. Also here is Hasırcılar Caddesi, a narrow street selling spices and other goods that are often a fraction of the price of equivalent products in the Spice Bazaar. Look out for the flagship store of the most famous coffee purveyor in Turkey, “Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi“, which is on the corner nearest to the bazaar.
When you are ready to leave, take the exit in the middle of the bazaar that leads out into the plant and pet market nestled into the crook of the L-shaped structure. Here dogs, ducks, pheasants, rabbits and even leeches are available to buy, but you will most likely prefer to take a breather in one of the adjacent open-air cafes.
I knew it as the "spice bazaar" – great shopping experience of all things turkey, especially their specialty "turkish delight" a gelatin like substance that is fantastic.
I have visited many flea market world wide; however, this is one of a kind. As soon as you enter the market you will smell the nice saffron and the strong spices. This will be the right place to buy some souvenirs and Turkish delights.
This is a great way to spend an hour or so. There's a fantastic energy and amazing photos to be taken. The sales people are funny and charming as they ask you how they can help you spend your money. I bought lots of delicious tea and spices here and enjoyed the experience immensely.
Has to be seen. Incredibly busy and wonderful smells to overwhelm.
Definitely worth taking a look if you are in the general area. It's not as big as I imagined, and it takes 5 minutes to walk through if you don't stop. I've read that you should not buy the saffron here b/c it's actually safflower.
This place is filled with beauty, whether the vast array of colors across the market or the range of smells as you wander from teas to spices to fish and on and on. There is quite a bit of replication of items with not a lot of variety once you get an idea of what's there.
focused on spices and foods, this bazaar is worth the visit. We enjoyed many options on spices, teas and nuts.
It is much smaller than expected and much less food based – many touristy ceramic/scarf shops. We found the cheapest spice shop with most selection to be furthest away from the port on last corner on the right – managed to find all the spices we couldnt find at home.
This is where you can get the spices and nuts and those special turkish delights and sweets all in one place…I haven't seen this many varieties of tea anywhere else than here being in India and Middle east for a long time…But make sure u haggle a lot… atleast start with 50% less of the displayed price.
The Egyptian Bazzar was one of my memorable and great experiences in Istanbul. As soon as you get in you'll start smelling the spices and you'll immediately fall in love with the hand-crafts and souvenirs. You can get good bargains at the bazzar, but make sure that there's no damage in the product.