Shopping at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar in Istanbul

Tags

Asia, Europe, Food & Drinks, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Spice Bazaar, Turkey

This is the eighth of eleven posts on Istanbul. Check out our other posts here:

I love Daniel Craig as James Bond. I mean, he’s no Sean Connery, but in my opinion, he is the next best James Bond. So, while in Istanbul, Mr. Selfish and I rewatched Skyfall, because the opening sequence is set in Istanbul. Although it didn’t seem quite geographically accurate, there is an awesome chase scene near the Grand Bazaar.

Unfortunately, I didn’t spot James Bond on a motorcycle at the Grand Bazaar. Nevertheless, it is still quite epic. The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world. It is quite large with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops. I was pretty surprised as to how large it was.

Mr. Selfish and I didn’t buy anything. We just browsed. Everything was lovely but seemed highly breakable.

Although we didn’t buy any souvenirs from the Grand Bazaar, we did partake in some tea and snacks at one of the little cafes. Mr. Selfish had the Turkish coffee, which came with a shot of liquor, Turkish delight, and water. I had the apple tea, which is quite prolific in Istanbul.

Mr. Selfish and I learned that we do not really care much for Turkish coffee, even in Turkey. On the other hand, we did enjoy the Turkish delights there since they are so much more fresh than what we can get. I liked the apple tea, but you could probably find a comparable version in the States.

Next, we ventured into the Spice Bazaar, which is smaller than the Grand Bazaar but still quite large.