Grand Bazaar Tour

The fact that it is featured in many travel books and paintings by painters shows the historical and cultural importance of the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar, which is defined not only as the oldest but also the largest shopping center in the world, with 500 thousand visitors a day, is built on an area of ​​45 thousand square meters and contains 3,600 shops.

From 1460, when Fatih Sultan Mehmet started its construction, to the 1990s, the Grand Bazaar was an important shopping place in the life of Istanbulites. When a special gift was bought for a valuable person, when a house was being furnished or when there was a need for something that is not easily available in the market, the Grand Bazaar would come to mind first. Even today, it is the largest historical covered bazaar in the world with 4,000 shops, 500 stalls and 21 gates.

The Grand Bazaar has a total of 22 gates. You will then ask where to enter. Beyazıt, Çarşıkapı, Çuhacıhan, Jewelers, Mahmutpaşa, Nuruosmaniye, Örücüler, Sepetçihan, Takkeciler, Tavukpazarı and Zenneciler gates are the biggest ones. But the two most used gates are the Beyazıt and Nuruosmaniye gates. Because Kalpakçılar Caddesi, the main street of the bazaar, stretches between these two gates.

The best thing is to get lost in the Grand Bazaar without thinking too much. If you are new to the Grand Bazaar, it is inevitable that you will get lost. There are dozens of streets, and frankly, they all look very similar. If you are trying to go to a certain street in the Grand Bazaar, which is better than the labyrinth, getting help from the shopkeepers will make your job easier.