Where to buy istanbul

Nowadays, their product spectrum has expanded to include not only glassware, but also ceramics and art pieces containing precious and semi-precious metals.

Their website is www. Turkish Sweets. Everyone is familiar with Turkish Delight, known as Lokum in Turkish. There are many varieties of Turkish delight available out there, but the key advantage of getting it in Turkey is that you can sample all the different kinds from behind the counter, thus finding the flavors you enjoy most. Pismaniye, a very popular Turkish sweet largely unknown outside Turkey, is like Turkish cotton candy. One of the best places to buy a variety of Turkish sweets is Koska, a Turkish sweets store with several branches throughout the country, including two in Istiklal Caddesi near Tunel the closest one to Galata Tower is Istiklal Caddesi A, phone: They are open 7 days a week from 9am to 11pm.

Wind instruments, such as Kaval, Mey and Sipsi, as well as stringed instruments, known as Baglama, make unique gifts for music lovers and collectors.

Prices on instruments vary greatly, depending on their quality. It is best to discuss your needs with a shop owner in order to buy the right instrument. The best place for travelers to buy musical instruments in Istanbul is Galip Dede Caddesi off the end of Istiklal Caddesi towards the Galata Tower in the Tunel district.

This is an old cobble-stone street lined with music shops on each side. Shops are generally open from 10am to 8pm 7 days a week, although some may be closed on Sundays. Sharon Pruitt. Belly dancing or oriental dancing is known worldwide. Just as famous are the costumes the female dancers wear. While buying an entire belly dancing outfit might be a bit too much for an average person, the hip scarves with coins can be used in a variety of ways and may serve as good reminders of holidays in Istanbul.

The best place to buy these is the Grand Bazaar at 10TL apeice. Locally made natural health and beauty products are currently on the rise in Turkey. Handmade olive oil soaps are part of this trend and represent the centuries old tradition stemming from hamams. Local soap makers combine high quality olive oil with other botanical extracts to create beautiful bars of soap for various skin types.

It is open Monday to Saturday from 8am to pm and Sundays from am to 7pm. Turkish Coffee. Coffee originated in the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire eventually developed a very strong coffeehouse culture. Turkish coffee involves boiling finely ground coffee in a pot - cezve - with sugar. The coffee powder settles at the bottom of the cup and the top is covered with a layer of foam.

After drinking their coffee, the Turks turn their cups upside down on their saucers and wait for them to cool. In order to enjoy Turkish coffee at home, first you need to buy a proper Turkish coffee pot - cezve, and then some finely powdered Turkish coffee. The best place to buy these is a grocery store where prices are much lower than in the tourist-oriented markets.

There is a large Migros located inside the MetroCity shopping centre in Levent, on the subway line from Taksim. Bim and Sok grocery stores are also found throughout the city in every neighborhood. These stores are smaller and generally cheaper, but their selection can be limited. Kilim Image Courtesy of: Vladimer Shioshvili. Writing on Turkish gifts is not possible without mentioning the famous Turkish carpets, kilims. Kilim is a flat woven carpet rich in colors and intricate geometric patterns.

The latter have changed very little throughout centuries. Originally, because flat woven carpets didn't last as long as pile carpets, they were considered inferior and of lower commercial value for foreign trade. As a result, free from any foreign competition, the Turks have managed to preserve their original weaving techniques very much intact. Nowadays, kilims are no longer considered inferior and the high quality pieces can be rather expensive. While you might not have the space in your suitcase for a full-size rug, a number of smaller pieces can fit in just nicely.

Doormat-size rugs start at 60TL for the most basic patterns, running up to about TL for more detailed, original designs and better quality. Turkish carpet sellers are renowned for their persistence and oftentimes aggressive sales techniques. Shops are usually family-run and the level of pressure in sales depends on which cousin or uncle works this particular day. When buying a carpet, it is best to visit several shops and see which carpets you like and which salespeople you feel most comfortable with.

Travelers looking for foodie treats are particularly in luck, with plenty of Turkish food products making great gifts. Those looking for a more modern shopping experience will find all the usual international brands, as well as Turkey's own brand names, along the big shopping high streets. Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues. Shopping at the Grand Bazaar. Turkey's most famous shopping destination needs no introduction. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar has been in business since the midth century.

It's basically the medieval version of a modern shopping mall. As the bazaar itself is one of the city's top tourist attractions , as well as a major shopping destination, it's a good idea to plan to spend at least a couple of hours here — and prepare to get a bit lost.

The bedestens warehouses and caravanserais, all connected by vault-roofed lanes, contain roughly 4, stores. Happily, losing your bearings slightly when inside often leads you to some of the more interesting, small stores off the main routes. The full caboodle of Turkish crafts, as well as craftwork hailing from central Asia and the Middle East, is available here.

Everything from antique handloom Turkish carpets and handcrafted gold jewelry to cheap, plastic Istanbul fridge magnets.

It's a great place to get a thorough grounding of what's available. The best places to seek out are the specialist artisan stores and workshops, snaffled inside the smaller lanes in the depths of the bedestens.

Many of the shops lining the main thoroughfares deal in cheap tourist tat. Deeper exploring will turn up embroidered textiles from Uzbekistan, handwoven silk shawls, and intricately inscribed metalware. Egyptian Spice Bazaar.

This is a one-stop shop for foodie travelers who want to bring a taste of Turkey back home. Over 80 shops here trade in spices, dried fruit, nuts, specialist Turkish food products, dried flower and herb teas, and local sweet treats such as helva tahini sweets and lokum Turkish delight. Come here to stock up on the spices that are integral to Turkish cuisine, such as sumac and pul biber Aleppo pepper , to buy high-quality pomegranate molasses another important Turkish cooking flavor enhancer , and to taste test a vast range of Turkish honeys.

It can get uncomfortably crowded from around noon to late afternoon, so try to visit in the morning. Clothes and crafts for sale at Arasta Bazaar. Originally, this arcade of shops was part of the mosque complex and would have provided revenues for the mosque.

Grand Bazaar is the collection of numerous separate shops that have come together in hundreds of years. Naturally, there are many entrances and exits of the bazaar.

Therefore, in order to find your way in the bazaar, you are recommended to remember the direction of this street. The Grand Bazaar is the most well-known spot among the best shopping places in Istanbul. It is known all over the world as the best place to go for shopping in Istanbul. If you are thinking of buying Turkish carpets in the Grand Bazaar or its surroundings, I recommend you to read the article where to buy Turkish carpets in Istanbul.

Balat and Fener have been a highly popular neighborhoods in Istanbul recently. The best part of visiting these neighborhoods is that you can enjoy restaurants, cafes, local culture, and shopping in the same area.

When you enter the streets of Balat, you will see some shops holding auctions on both sides of the road. In these shops, you can buy antique goods at ridiculously low prices. The most attractive thing about Kadikoy for foreign visitors is the atmosphere of Fish Market. Indeed, Kadikoy dock and Fish Market are the reflections of hundreds of years of history. Moreover, various second-hand book and clothes shops and souvenir shops on the way to Moda may attract your attention too.

Kadikoy is definitely one of the best shopping places on the Asian Side of Istanbul. You can find everything about shopping in Istanbul in the Kadikoy Fish Market and the streets surrounding it. Horhor Antique Mall and Cukurcuma are the first places when it comes to antique shops on the European side of Istanbul. And Tellalzade Street , which is between Kadikoy and Moda, is the one of the best shopping streets where you can find antique products on the Asian side of Istanbul.

If you are interested in antique goods, the shops lined up on both side of the street will surely offer you interesting stuff. Cicek Street is right across Altiyol Bull monument and nearby , which swarms with people on weekdays, and you will see a hat seller at the entrance of the street that has been there since forever. On this street, you can find trendy dresses at boutique shops that are lined up across each other.

Moreover, you can also find makeup products and shoe shops too. If you are wondering where the locals shop in Istanbul , you can find the answer to your question here. Cilek Street is especially ideal for cheap clothes shopping in istanbul. Bahariye Street is one of the best places to take a walk in Kadikoy. And there are some other nostalgic elements on the street such as Sureyya Opera.

Bahariye Street is among the best shopping streets in Istanbul to buy cheap clothes similar to the designs of famous brands. However, you can find these clothes not on the street but in the passages surrounding the street.

If you need a nightgown or daily sportswear, you can find similar stylish products like expensive brands. I should note that Opera Onur Bazaar is a place where I have been shopping as a local for many years. This small shopping mall is the best place to shop in the Asian Side of Istanbul for cheap clothing. Bagdat Street was among the best shopping streets in Istanbul until a few years ago. However, it fell victim to the urban transformation in the area and, therefore, some shops had to be closed.

Although it has lost its former charm, Bagdat Street is still the best place to shop on the Asian Side of Istanbul.

Bagdat Street starts from Bostanci and continues to the center of Kadikoy. Especially, Saskinbakkal, Caddebostan, Goztepe, and Selamicesme areas offer nice shops, cafes, and parks. You can find many shops designed for luxury brand shopping in Istanbul along Bagdat Street. This is Serhat Engul. I wish you a wonderful trip!

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Table of Contents. Istanbul Old City. Silk shawls with which to drape the color of the Aegean in a graceful arc below bare Photo by age fotostock. Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Istanbul's Spice Bazaar may be a global tourist trap, but isn't nearly as rage-inducing as the squawking group tours inside the Grand Bazaar. Here, a remnant of authenticity lives on in this 17th century building, created by commission for Sultana Blue-glass eye amulets nazar in Turkish that ward off the evil eye are Tribal Art Home.

Located one street back from the tram line in Sultanahmet, Tribal Art Home's owner Nihat and his assistant Yekta will help you browse their extensive range of hand-crafted ceramics, mosaic lanterns, candle holders, waterpipes nargile , and By Retro. Immerse yourself in clothes, shoes, bags, costumes, and accessories of bygone eras at By Retro in Suriye Passage, off Istiklal Street. This expansive basement shop is a wondrous labyrinth of vintage and retro treasures that feels more like a big Noah's Ark Carpets and Kilims.