Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. In 2014, it was listed No.1 among world's most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors. The Grand Bazar at Istanbul is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world. Construction started around the year 1455/1456. It is located within the walls of the old city of Istanbul. The high roofs covering the long lanes create a pleasant atmosphere and stimulates to wonder around. All in all, a city within a city.

As the business grew, people started doing business outside the walled city, gradually extending the bazaar.

Shopkeepers have gone into great efforts to display their goods in an attractive manner, creating colourfull displays of many kinds of articles.

The Spice Bazaar

The Turkish name for the Spice Bazaar translates to Egyptian Bazaar. It was built in 1660 with money earned in Egypt. The building itself is part of the külliye (complex) of the New Mosque. The revenues obtained from the rented shops inside the bazaar building were used for the upkeeping of the mosque.

Today the Spice Bazaar has a total of 85 shops selling spices, Turkish delight and other sweets, jewellery, souvenirs, and dried fruits and nuts.