The grand old Turkish Bazaars

If you’re starting to think winding roads and small shops selling lamps and lanterns, rugs, kilims and carpets, exquisite hand crafted ceramic jugs, bowls and tiles, handmade jewelry, Turkish handicrafts….

STOP!!

Think more, Bangkok Siam Square or China Town (Anyone)…. Well, actually keep thinking winding roads and small shops, but stop there. Because when you do start walking into a Turkish Bazaar, the first thing that strikes you is that they’re selling clothes, bags, shoes just like any other street market in the world. It appears that Turkey along with the rest of the world has moved into providing what the consumer wants and while the initial charm of an old bazaar maybe lost, what they’re selling is only practical.

The Kemeralti Bazaar, opposite Konak pier is about a 20 minute walk along the coast line from my hotel in Kordon. As I entered the bazaar, I could have been transported anywhere in the world as the LV/Gucci bags, Lacoste shoes, cottons tops, jeans and shorts are things best described as global these days; they seem to be everywhere and not specific to any country.

However, many of the Turkish Bazaars are still being housed in their original locations and tend to have an intricate pattern of intersecting streets so you can still pretty much get lost in them. And the deeper you wander the more you discover.

As I did! So once I’d reached the point of, I have no clue how to get out of here, I started to discover various sections that were more specific to Turkey… and I don’t mean the Turkish souvenir shops.

There are shops selling nuts and spices, sun dried tomatoes, olives and cheese, others selling Turkish delight and sweets which are very specific to the region. More tradition and local clothes seem to be bunched together in a different section. While traditional jewelry and gem stores as well ceramic stores seem to between the more nontraditional stores.

There is definitely tons to see in a local Turkish Bazaar… they may have changed a lot over time but whether you’re a shopper looking for a deal or someone interested in getting a flavor for the local environment; the more time you spend, the more you discover and the more you start to feel the old charm of being in a grand old Turkish Bazaar.