We set off walking and managed to get a little lost. As we walked, we noticed entry points to the Bazaar, but we were walking along at prayer time. We saw men praying in the marketplace and on the street. This was the first time we saw this during our visit. Of course, it was Friday. I noticed people taking photographs of the men prostrating themselves in prayer, but I personally draw the line at that kind of invasion. I have had the experience of taking unwanted photos in the past and I always feel bad about it after the fact. I know I have an aversion to people taking photos when I am in prayer, so I am particularly mindful of that when I encounter others in prayer.
Once we found the Grand Bazaar, it reminded me of the covered market of Oxford. The goods were somewhat different, but not in a significant way. There were booths devoted to crockery, gems and leather goods, silks and other fabrics, lamps, purses, Turkish Delight and other candies, nuts, tee-shirts, and so on and so forth. I'm not much of a shopper to begin with, and I had made a pledge not to buy tchochkes. Beyond that, my son is one of the most frugal people I know, so we moved through the market quickly. I suppose if I had certain purchasing goals the market might have been more interesting to me, but I didn't and it wasn't. I just couldn't afford to generate an interest in the products.
Having said that, I did learn a couple of interesting facts. The Bazaar has "60 streets and 5,000 shops, and attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily." Additionally, "[t]he complex houses two mosques, four fountains, two hamams, and several cafés and restaurants. In the centre is the high domed hall of the Cevahir Bedesten, where the most valuable items and antiques were to be found in the past, and still are today."
We decided to check out the Spice Market as well. We thought we knew how to get there, but it was a little more complicated than we anticipated. Still, as was true of so many of the experiences I had this past autumn, the mistakes were actually very interesting. As we exited the Grand Bazaar, we walked past Turkish police wearing helmets, bulletproof vests, and large shields. As we turned to the right, we realized we were right by the University of Istanbul. We saw part of the contingent of police run off in the general direction of the university, but we weren't able to discern what they were doing.
We figured out the path we wanted to take and started walking in the correct direction. We passed the Rüstem Pasha Mosque and were in the vicinity of the Galata Tower. When we found the Market, it was frankly hard to distinguish from the Grand Bazaar. There were a few booths specifically dedicated to spices and soaps (and, counter to our "no-purchase" policy, we actually bought a couple of bars of soap for Alison), but we took the same approach we had in the Grand Bazaar--a quick run-through and then we were headed back to our hostel.
We went back to the first restaurant we had visited on Monday and discovered the prices had gone up considerably since that first meal. The truth is, we had been eating at tourist traps the whole week. It didn't matter much because the costs had been generally low.
Vibav, our resident food adventurer, had decided we should go to the Beyoglu district to sample the best kebab in Istanbul.
The Tunel was another charge, but again, it wasn't too much.
Once we made it to the other side, Vibav took us on an interesting jaunt through alleys of restaurants and bars in search of Durumzade' where they serve up a spicy mix of meat on a wrap, or durum, with sauce and red onions. As it happens, our friend Carson is a vegetarian. Beyond crisps, there was nothing for him to eat at this stand. Strike Two. Five of us were in heaven. One of our party did not enjoy it because he found it too spicy. It was ridiculously inexpensive, so we all decided to find a bar where Carson might be able to get some chips and the rest of us purchased beers.
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