Kapali Carsi

Nice to visit and walk around. Mass produced wares and tat tripple the price. Not worth the energy and time to haggle. The hand painted ceramic bowls cost me 9.95 TL Asian side in Kardikoy , but were selling for 25 TL at the Grand Bazaar.
Seller’s can become hostile if you start haggling. I followed advice and divided the price offered by 3 and was told to get out of the shop. Some of the porcelain coffee sets cost more than Harrods.
Preferred the smaller shops outside and a nice cup of coffee in a cafe.

A huge bazaar with huge varieties of goods, but I advise you to buy nothing.
1. Without doubt, it is one of the first shopping malls of the world and it is also the most-visited tourist attractions with 91,250,000 annual visitors.
2. There are so many over priced stuffs over there. Even you might be a very good bargainer and you might seem to get a good price, it is just an illusion. YOU WOULD NOT. Things are too overpriced and you can find a lot cheaper stuff out there.
3. Even though the stuff are over priced, you can still train your bargaining skill over there or browse them. It is never a disadvantage of going to a place without buying things. The most important thing is you experience it.

Yes, there is a lot of tourist tatt here, but if you think that’s all there is to this place, then you haven’t really looked.
There are “districts” within, specialising in antiques, jewellery, leather goods etc.
In amongst it all, there are some high end unique things to be found.
We were fortunate to be shown around by our guide after she had accompanied us on a 17 day tour around turkey ( she did this as a favour, since he market was closed when we were originally scheduled to go)
We bought some great medium and small hand painted bowls, delicate silver evil eye bracelets and a Turkish cotton bedcover.
A friend bought a beautiful, unique silk brocade jacket (apparently only made and sold by the one shop. Our guide previously researched, before getting herself one)
Saw some stunning (but expensive ) silk pillow covers at Yazzma.

We again got here reasonably early and it was already quite busy this place needs to be seen to be believed. We found it disorientating and it’s really hard to find your way back to things but possible if you try, we tracked back to buy stuff and managed it in the end.
Haggle haggle haggle and don’t act over interested there so use to selling stuff that if you show too much interest then they won’t drop so much, if they asked me 600tl I offer 300tl everyone does deals never pay price your asked, walk away they will come down. This goes for everything here rugs, trainers, coats, Gucci, moncler, prada, stone island you name is they have it but beware some stuff is expensive and none of it is real even though some shops look realish just don’t get sucked in, some stuffs dear some stuffs cheap do your homework don’t buy the first thing you see, compare prices.
Plus check my pics the restaurant we had lunch at was the best food we ate whilst in Istanbul.

It’s a must see place in Istanbul it’s very exciting and so many things to see. At the moment with so few tourists there are in areas more people trying to sell than potential customers and with most sellers on commission and costs being so high to be in the bazaar then the atmosphere is less friendly than before . You would have thought that it would have bought prices down but in opinion it’s the opposite as sellers are trying to make the most of every sale . Reality is local people buy stuff outside the bazaar and prices are hugely different between one and the other . So if you are a tourist taking pictures no really buying stuff which most people are it’s very very difficult for the people working there as with a few exceptions there are few Western European , Antipodean or North American’s there looking to empty their wallets just mainly Russians and Middle Easterners. Anyway give it a go there are still some nice places. Also change your money in the bazaar the rates are far far better than outside .

The Bazaar was an eye opening experience, gold everywhere and be ready to bargainThe best part was that you did not have to exchange currency. The prices are reasonable and don't forget, shop around because there are hundreds of stores selling the same products.

The place is huge and would definitely recommend visiting. The feeling is like you are in a game or a movie. The problem is that most of the sellers sell the same stuff and the prices are really high, so negotiating is a must. Most of the stores are selling spices and tea, gold, fake purses and shoes, carpets, classic tourist stuff (tea cups, nargillas) and everyone will try to sell you something so be prepared for a place where you can easily get lost (there are signs pointing towards the exits) and be prepared for a lot of tourists.

This place is a must see when you traveling to Istanbul, but I suggest window shopping is enough. The items in shops of bazaar are almost the same. And the price all higher than other places. I bought a scarf in bazzar it costs me 60 lira , next day I found the same one in a street vendor at pierr loti hill, it costs 25 lira without any bargain . And remember to keep the coin 1 lira for toilet fee in bazzar

Place is historical , but goods are overpriced. If you wanna buy something, tell them price 5-10 times less than the actual. As a student, for other traveling students I would not recommend to waste your time there. If you wanna buy some clothes do it in the malls or outlet stores in Kadıköy . It is much cheaper and more choices.

This is a must see in the city, but it got very tiring walking around pushy salespeople all day. I love haggling, but I also like when stores have unique items. Overall, I could take it or leave it. I may come back, but I’m not in a hurry and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who wants a laid back shopping excursion.