Spice Bazaar …. Istanbul!

I’m thinking… maybe I should stick to photo posts! They are certainly more interesting to readers, especially if you are not like me! I love going through posts word by word, dissecting it and researching too… but otherwise… photo posts it is!

We set out to the spice bazaar, situated in the ‘Golden Horn. I must say, the Spice Bazaar was a major disappointment. It is situated right next to the ‘New Mosque’ (actually, the new queen mother mosque)- Yeni Cami.  It was so crowded inside… shopkeepers were hawking their wares, calling out to customers. I haven’t even seen something this uncivilized, back home in Bombay, India..

Here goes… We were driven to the Spice Bazaar through a scenic route…

En-route the Spice Bazaar…

Asia in the distance….

I may have tuned out during the running commentary, but this huge mosque called Yeni Cami caught my eye, on getting off and standing right outside the spice bazaar...The mosque is just next to the Spice Bazaar, which is housed in an old building, I would definitely have thought twice about entering! See the small structure to the right of the mosque!

                The bazaar was super crowded… you literally had to push to get through.. but then… I am a master of that:p

The vibrant atmosphere didn’t do much for me, but it was definitely on the ‘to-do’ list! Our first stop was a store that offered us amazing apple tea… and tiny bits of the favoured Turkish delight, or ‘lokum’ as it is commonly called. I loved the chocolate covered ones.. but don’t buy your stock of lokum from here, go get it from a store called ‘Gulluoglu’, right near the Grand Bazaar!

Spices on sale! People flocked to buy stuff… but I know you get even better spices both in the UAE and in India….

Look! Aladdin… where’s Genie and the magic lamp… magical wares on sale, huh??

The Spice bazaar, is also known for selling aphrodisiacs.. Caviar  on sale apparently – plentiful eh?

Dry fruits… looks inviting doesn’t it? 30 gms a day is one portion of fruit… no thank you!

Soon done with theSpice Bazaar and had to fight my way through! some parts of it were slightly less crowded. I couldn’t help but take the photo op!

Soon done with this place, we headed out to the square,  to wait for out group to meet up and then head to the port for the Bosphorus Cruise! Look what caught my eye.. isn’t he/she beautiful????

All said and done, I’m glad we made it here, albeit for a short span of time.. I don’t think I’d have wanted more, but yes, people did return the following day! You can give this a miss if you want to, and if you do go here, try not to buy too much and Bargain Bargain Bargain!

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