The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, For Shopping Enthusiasts

Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı, or Covered Market; map) is Turkey’s largest covered market offering excellent shopping: beautiful Turkish carpets, glazed tiles and pottery, copper and brassware, apparel made of leather, cotton and wool, meerschaum pipes, alabaster bookends and ashtrays, and all sorts of other things.

In 2018 the bazaar decided that it would open for business seven days a week from 08:30am to 19:00 (7pm), and would also be open on national holidays during the same hours.

The only exception is that on the first day of the Ramazan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı religious holidayperiods, the bazaar will be closed. It will open for the remaining days of each holiday period.

Shopping in Istanbul is one of the most exciting things in the city. as you will find a lot of time in this charming city.

As tourists from all over the world, especially Europe and Asia, visit Istanbul shopping festivals at different times of the year.

Most guidebooks claim that it has 4000 shops. Because of cosolidation and replacement of shops by restaurants and other services the number is certainly lower, but you get the idea: it has lots of shops. Not all of them, by the way, are for tourists; locals shop here as well, lending a welcome dose of authenticity.