Grand Bazaar & Spice Market

7/7/11

Istantul (day 2)

While Mary and DJ lolled about, I went off with the group to tour the Grand Bazaar, travel up the Golden Horn and back by ferry boat and wander through the Old Spice Market.

Streets on the European side of Istanbul are very narrow. One turn involved the first bus backing and filling, a small gray car attempting to edge through no matter what, numerous on-lookers, copious gesticulations and passing frustration. 

We eventually made it around the corner, reaching the Bazaar as the shops were opening. As we were among the first customers, things were not yet crowded. The building itself is very interesting--frescoed walls and ceilings. Unfortunately, the floors were flagged unevenly and prone to sprout steps just anywhere. Some people bought things there, even though our guide said that we would spend too much money for inferior goods there. Though several salesmen tried to interest me in their wares--Hello, pretty lady. Where are you going? What are you looking for? Hello?--I went back to the bus earlier than most without buying anything.

From the Bazaar we went to the waterfront, boarding a ferry for a tour of the Golden Horn going out on the European side. We passed many fabulous homes, one of which had sold the year before for fourteen million dollars. The homes in the neighborhood "for the common people" sell for a mere four million dollars. Many of the old palaces have been converted into schools or hotels, including the summer palace which is now a museum/bed and breakfast despite the lack of heating.

We walked from the port about four blocks, past a hardware market, to the Old Spice Market. Hakan, our guide, introduced us to a shopkeeper who gave us a taste of Turkish Delight. This was somewhat akin to candied fruit rolled into thin ropes, covered with powdered sugar and slice into quarter-inch slices. I found the texture somewhat chewy and the taste overly sweet. If I had thought DJ, Mary and I could have finished it before the end of the trip without making ourselves ill, I would have bought some several pounds of it.

The scents of the Spice Market were wonderful. An overall cumin smell with eddies of lavender, cinnamon, cardamom and so on. More of the local people shop here. I did buy a "chikolati" soft-serve ice cream cone for a half euro that was a 3 on the gelato scale, including one point for being cold and wet when needed.

We had to walk back to the bus because of the ubiquitous traffic jam. Reaching the ship by early afternoon, I turned in my temporary Turkish visa and settled in for a much needed nap.

JKC