SPICE MARKET, EGYPTIAN MARKET (MISIR ÇARŞISI)
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During the Byzantine period, it was a market where Venetians and Genoese came to sell rare spices, hence its other name spice market. Built on an L-shaped plan, it has four main entrances and more than 100 shops where a thousand and one spices, honeys, cheeses, from all the Turkish provinces, flowers, aphrodisiac mixtures, dried meats and even domestic animals are traded. Restored in 1943, this market is strongly imbued with the oriental atmosphere with its colours and smells, much more exotic than that of the Grand Bazaar, which has become the centre of jewellers and carpet merchants. That being said, jewellers are gaining a little more ground each year.
Be sure to visit the adjacent streets outside the bazaar. Pass on the left the flower and bird market to get lost in the alleys at the back. The many itinerant merchants present a very picturesque world where electronic devices, tools, perfumes are sold in a jumble... If you want to buy Turkish coffee, you can go to the Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi. No need for an address, the shop is in front of the market, on the right wing: just follow the smell. If there's a problem, ask, the whole neighborhood knows it. Coffee is sold by weight: you go to the counter from the outside and choose one of the packages that are ready for sale.
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Members' reviews on SPICE MARKET, EGYPTIAN MARKET (MISIR ÇARŞISI)
Ne pas manquer à l'extérieur le petit marché aux animaux et aux plantes, où l'on peut acheter des 'Mr.Doctor', (sangsues), ou encore avoir la preuve matérielle que le chat est roi à Istanbul.
Y flâner ! Je n’ai rien acheté pour autant
Beaucoup d’étals d’épices, mais aussi beaucoup de bijoux.
C’est un régal pour tous les sens… Les parfums des épices, la beauté des étalages harmonieusement disposés, le calme malgré la foule….
A ne pas rater !