Turkish Markets
Today I’m going to take you on a photographic tour of the many markets we’ve enjoyed around Istanbul. Each outing includes a long walk there and back where we stumble upon other sights and discoveries about Turkey.
Fish Market
Just 10 minutes downhill from our AirBnB, winding through steep narrow streets filled with electric lights then power tools then waterfront seafood restaurants is the fish market. It is prime fishing season, and there’s no doubt these are fresh (though we are supposed to check the eyes and skin for translucence, and a few times they’ve refused to sell us something because they show us it’s too old).
A hundred fishermen (no women) are on the Galata Bridge right above, catching literally buckets of fish that then come straight here to be sold. Other fisherman putter up in their boats to sell their morning’s catch - we witness a heated negotiation between a fisherman and buyer, ending with several men gently escorting the angry fisherman back to his boat, even kissing him on the cheek to keep the peace. Still yelling and smoking his cigarette, he drives jerkily away into the large waves caused by all the ferry traffic.
We come here twice a week to load up on fresh salmon, sea bass and mackerel, which they fillet for us, all at less than $7/pound. If Sarah wasn’t such a good cook, we could then take our fresh fish to one of the next-door restaurants and have them cook it up for us.
Spice Market and Artisan Market
Another day we pass scores of fisherman on that Galata Bridge to the other side of the “Golden Horn” to check out the spice market. Expecting a wealth of exotic smells and tastes, we instead enter a Disneyland of indoor stalls selling whatever they think us tourists might want. We get enough free samples of Turkish Delight that we’ll never need to buy any, and gently say no to magnets, spices, scarves, rugs, lamps, hookas, jewelry, purple robes... I feel like I’ve just stepped off a cruise ship into a small port town. But kudos to the mosque next door that set this up as a way to fund their activities - social enterprise at its best!
Up the hill a bit, we see the magnificent Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, but really don’t need to pay $50 (each!) to go inside. The Call to Prayer has just started at the famous Blue Mosque, meaning we’re not allowed in for about 45 minutes, so we attend a free information session about the mosque and Islam faith that is clearly designed to allay the many misconceptions and fears people have. Women happily wear hijabs, these female guides tell us, so that men respect them for who they are, not their beauty. Women never lead prayer because they'd feel uncomfortable leading that much physical bending over in front of men - that’s also why they’re happy in the women-only prayer area tucked behind the shoe racks instead of the spacious light-filled dome for men. As a Western man I find it very difficult to understand the nuances of all this, but it was interesting to hear these women's heartfelt perspectives.
Like most mosques, this complex (including mosque, school, hospital, baths) was built by a rich man who will continue to receive blessings every time someone prays here. We take off our shoes and Sarah covers her head with a scarf to look around inside, then we continue uphill to the less chaotic, higher-quality Arasta Bazaar. The men at the highly-recommended Jennifer’s Hamam walk us three blocks up to their bigger showroom of organic, high-quality Turkish towels, scarves and shower exfoliating scrub-gloves, where we happily buy a few supplies for that someday-we’ll-have-a-house-again home.
Food Markets
Unlike the explosive 24/7 food markets of Mexico and the plethora of local fruit/meat/cheese shops in Italy and France, markets in Istanbul are harder to find. Supermarkets and convenience stores seem to be more the thing in this big city. Often just one day a week in rotating locations, we’ve had to explore many new neighbourhoods and be persistent to find or sometimes stumble across these markets, some of which are just a few blocks long. But oh, so worth it!
Curios Market
Another day we set our sights on the Sunday curios market. To get there we walk the full length of Istiklal Avenue - the pedestrian-only shopping mall street visited by 3 million people per day. High end local and foreign clothing shops, cafés and bakeries, art, consulates, even a famous street trolley - this road has it all.
At the far end is Taksim Square, with a statue of Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and the main gathering place for national celebrations and demonstrations. We’ve seen police in riot gear shutting down the whole Istiklal Avenue during demonstrations a few times. Fairly recently the government permitted construction of a big new mosque right at Taksim Square - a controversial move in a country that is officially secular.
Further up we pass by the Trump twin towers, the shopping mall where we earlier bought a yoga mat and free weights, and the movie theater where we got to see Wicked with Turkish subtitles (no worries about anyone singing along here, not even me). After a good two hours of walking/exploring we finally reach the Curio market with its breath-taking breadth of dusty treasures.
Grand Bazaar
Last but the opposite of least, we cross the Galata Bridge over the Golden Horn once again to visit the Grand Bazaar. Dating back to 1461, it is the oldest and the largest covered shopping center in the world, with over 4,000 shops filling a maze of 56 interconnecting vaulted passages, covering 580,000 square feet (54,000 m2).
It is so beautifully overwhelming - we have to leave soon after entering to find a fresh-pressed pomegranate juice to re-courage me - and indescribable that I’m just going to share a slideshow of that day that I had prepared for a dear birthday friend. The first photos are the outside market as you approach the Bazaar. Be sure to notice the vaulted ceilings, and how they change to brick in the oldest “antique” section near the end. Note too the one remaining ablution fountain (for cleaning one’s feet prior to prayer) - the bazaar used to have 19 fountains, five mosques, ten medrese (religious schools), one hamam (Turkish bath) and one mausoleum.
At the end you’ll see that we squeeze in a visit to the Suleymaniye Mosque (the prominent one we always see across the water from our home, built in 1557 during the Ottoman empire), and accidently walk home through the vibrant and colourful Fener and Balat neighbourhoods, then finally crossing the newer bridge (with a metro train station exactly in the middle) back across to our home neighbourhood between the fish market and Galata tower.
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Lovely scenes Ricardo. The aubergine were attractive. Where are the carpet salesmen? I thought the grand bazaar was over 2,000 years old?
Have a wonderful Christmas with the boys!
Oh ya, carpet salesmen everywhere (and yes, all men – except for veggies, the salesmen are all men). We keep trying to explain that we have no house to put a carpet in, but that doesn’t worry them – “You can buy a carpet then build a house around it!” As for the Grand Bazaar, Wikipedia says construction was started in 1455, and “completed” after 1730 (it’s big). So not quite 2,000 years yet.