Where to Shop
Istanbul can easily be a shopping parade for many Tourists. Turkeys being a leading manufacturer for Textile product is creating an enormous demand on Clothes, Fashion wears, linens, towels and other textile products. To shop in Istanbul ranging from the expensive to cheap, from name brand to street fashion, there are great many addresses to visit without exhausting yourself too much.
The markets, Bazaars and malls of Istanbul reflect the socio-economic condition of the areas where they are located. If you like shopping in malls and choose your alternatives in between hundreds of brands, I strongly suggest to visit the Malls page where you can find all the main malls of Istanbul, their addresses and short descriptions.
If you want to shop and see sights of Istanbul, then you shall visit Istiklal street at Beyoglu. Easy shopping, Historical sights, Nice cafes and street fashion.
Covered Bazaar:
locally called as "Kapalicarsi" is probably the oldest Covered bazaar in the World. Many tourists do tour and shop around the Touristy peninsula, where mainly no locals are not shopping. However there are still some nice products in the Touristy peninsula also. If you are looking for souvenirs and handicrafts, Covered Bazaar and Spice bazaar shall be your address for shopping.
It has more than 4000 shops in one huge building and 64 streets with 22 entrance. The most active and famous street of the bazaar is called the Nuruosmaniye street, where many gold and jewellery sellers are located. Covered bazaar is one of the worlds biggest gold trade centers. So you can see various type of gold products and also elegant jewelries.
Behind the main street, you can find many souvenir shops, Leather shops and Carpet shops. Also Glassware and ceramic shops are very popular. Inside the bazaar, you can also find special shops that sells towels, soaps and bath accessories. Hamams are a must see in Turkey and Hamam stuffs can easily be found in these shops. For silver addicted, there is a passage called Bedesten inside the Covered Bazaar, where you can find very nice and elegant silver rings and accessories.
How to get there: Covered bazaar is at Beyazit / Istanbul. It has around 22 gates but the most easy one to find is the "Nuruosmaniye Gate" near the Beyazit square. If you take a tram from Eminonu, you should get off from Beyazit. And there on the right side, you can easily spot the entrance
Spice Bazaar:
Spice bazaar is located at Eminonu, near the new mosque. It is the correct place if you are looking for a less crowded place than covered bazaar. Spice bazaar is famous with its hundreds of different spices. You can find all sort of herbs, spices, desserts and of course world famous Turkish delight. Walking through the fragrant smell of coffee and spices, there is much to choose from.
In spice bazaar, there are also some souvenir shops, where you can buy small gifts to your friends. Blue eye is a typical souvenir, that you can bring to your friends. Turks believe that these small blue eyes, do protect us from evil eyes.
How to get there: Spice Bazaar is at the center of Eminonu. Eminonu is a very central location for Tourists cause it is the last stop of the tram and also just near the ferry port. When you reach Eminonu, you will see the "New Mosque" and just on the right side is the spice bazaar.
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Istiklal Street:
Probably the most active street of Istanbul. The old "Grand rue de Pera" is now hosting hundreds of shops, cafes and restaurants. Istiklal street at Beyoglu is a perfect location for shoppers.
The street lays between Taksim Square till the "Tunel" area. The street is pedestranized and only a historical tram is running from one end to another. On the street you can find many fashion brands, famous Turkish brands and also small shops for budget shoppers. In between houses you can spot some passages and those passages can suddenly turned out to be a nice alternatives. Many shops on Istiklal street are open till late hours. As the life on the street almost never stops, shops are also becoming a part of it.
The recently renovated historic Markiz arcade as well as the Atlas and the Aznavur arcades are must sees if you are for shopping on Istiklal street. Markiz is like a trademark of Beyoglu, it is not a place for cheap crowd. You can find variety of clothes, bags and shoe stores here. Definitely stop by Markiz, which is almost to the end of Istiklal street near the Tunnel area, and feel the history in this futuristic arcade.
The Aznavur arcade is full of stores that sell everything from gifts to clothing, from jewellery to wooden furniture. Those who love the south park characters should visit Aznavur passage. You will find many affordable things for your interest and you can find many small gifts for your friends. Aznavur arcade is just in the middle of Istiklal street near the Galatasaray.
How to get there: Istiklal street starts from Taksim Square and Taksim square is the main center of Istanbul. If you are in the Touristy peninsula Bus "T4" directly goes to Taksim square from S.Ahmet square. An alternative is taking a tram to Eminonu, walking the Galata Bridge, Later taking the small metro from "Karakoy" to "Tunel". Tunel is the other end of Istiklal street, so you can walk till Taksim square from there.
Nisantasi:
It is the most popular shopping district in Istanbul. But for the ones who are looking for high fashion and quality products with very expensive tags.
If you are looking for a LV bag or a Boss shirt, than Nisantasi is the place you are looking for. This nice area of Istanbul is almost tourist free, you can hardly find any tourists here. It is not mentioned on any of tourist guides, However when you get local, Nisantasi will sure attract you. it is one of the first address of many ex-pats, cause the area is so nice. Full of modern deluxe shops, Elegant Cafes, nice restaurants and it has everything you can look for.
How to get there: Nisantasi is some distance from Taksim. You can take a taxi from taxi or a tough walk can also take you there. One other alternative is to take the Taksim- Levent Metro line and get off at Osmanbey stop.
Bagdat Caddesi:
It is the most popular shopping street on the "Other side" of Istanbul, the Asian side. Similar as Nisantasi, Bagdat caddesi is for the ones who are looking for high fashion and quality products with tags.
Bagdat caddesi is a one-way street full of shops, shopping malls, Restaurants, Coffee shops, Elegant stores, Luxury car dealers, Banks and many many more. The street is a bit like narrow looking of Champ Elysee. Bagdat caddesi is also a good place to tour around and make window shopping.
How to get there: Bagdat Caddesi is located on the Asian side of Istanbul so you need to take a ferry to Kadikoy first and continue with "Dolmus". Dolmus (Something like a shared taxi) leaves near the Fast ferry port. You need to take a dolmus to Bostanci and get off around Suadiye .
http://www.letsgoistanbul.com/malls.htm