Bazaars of Istanbul ( 4 hours )

We begin our tour at Sultanahmet Square where we have a short briefing on the major landmarks that grace the center of the Old City. From here we proceed to Arasta Bazaar, the first stop on our shopping expedition. Small and simple, savvy shoppers have discovered Arasta yields many wonderful treasures as well as numerous memorable experiences involving the people who operate the shops.

Spice Bazaar

Spice Bazaar

Grand Bazaar

Arasta Bazaar

Sahaflar (Book) Bazaar

Caferaga Medresseh

Next we proceed to historical Caferaga Medresseh. This prominent building was renovated by the Turkish Cultural Service Foundation, and now houses various courses and workshops in traditional Turkish handcraft. Here we also visit the shop selling the finest example of handcraft items, made with respect to authentic traditions. After this visit we continue to the famous Grand Bazaar. If we choose to walk from here, we go through Nuri Osmaniye Street. This elegant street is filled with modern shops selling Turkey’s trademark goods: carpets, gold jewelry, leather items, and ceramics.

This street ends at one of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar. The area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade center during the Byzantine period. Today this bazaar will tempt even non-shoppers as we explore a labyrinth of streets and passages housing nearly 4,000 shops exhibiting a rich collection of precious handmade carpets, jewelry, leather, antiques, and souvenirs. Our final visit is to Spice Market. The Spice Market which was built as part of the Yeni Cami complex and has since been an exciting covered market filled with the fragrant scent of spices from the Orient.

* To make the price of the tour more reasonable, we use a taxi for transportation when there are two people participating.

For those who stay at Sultanahmet area and do not mind walking during the entire tour, we offer reduced per person rates: