| Bazaar district |
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| Bazaar district |
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The Grand Bazaar earns its name. It covers 310.000 m2, has 64 streets and 22 gates, and about 3,500 shops, varying from clothes to souvenirs and from gold and jewellery to fur coats. An amount of 3,500 shops means you have to tell 3,500 people you are not interested in what they are selling (unless you are interested, of course). Some of them are very creative. When they noticed we came from Holland, they told us Máxima (the wife of the Dutch crown prince) bought there, or that they had Bonuspunten (a saving system for discount on products in a big Dutch supermarket). Besides shops there are cafés and restaurants, so you can rest your feet and get some energy for more shops. |
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The Egyptian Bazaar lies close to Eminönü, where the ferries board. Here you can also buy spices and Turkish Delight and other edibles. You find here more Turkish people than tourists, so you can also buy a broom or a bucket or other every-day stuff. In one of the subways we found some shops with guns. But in Istanbul you can also buy a wedding-dress (always convenient when travelling the Silk Road). Or you can buy a metal detector. We bought none of these, but we fell for the coloured lamps so six of them are now in our home. |
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