Hey Lady.
California movie star!
Beautiful. Perfect. Welcome.
A face without freckles is like a night's sky without stars.
Hello your majesty.
Do you need a body guard?
This is the second time I've seen you today; the first time you were in my dreams.
Then of course there were lots of variations of "let's go grab a drink," "call me tonight," and "you're beautiful." Seriously. This is worse than Italy.
Of course when they are trying to sell you something it's just the kick off to the cultural past time of
pazarlik (bargaining). And here at the markets there is no time to catch up to the learning curve!
Kapalı Carşı (The Grand Bazaar)
This is one of the oldest and largest covered bazaars in the world, and wandering around it is worse than using an out of date GPS map in downtown Naples. Even when the traffic patterns keep changing on account of road work!
After the Ottoman invasion in 1453, Sultan Mehemet II established the bazaar in which cloth and textiles were originally sold by nomadic peoples. Over the years other markets joined near to form the large complex seen today, although the distinct areas for various merchandise still remains, it is a little blurry with many vendors branching into general touristy crap.
We probably only covered 10% of the place on account of being directionally challenged. It's tough for someone who relies on landmarks to know where she is when every other booth looks the same! And before you start passing judgement on my "being directionally challenged" statement, I'd like to explain that there's about 4,000 stalls tucked along the 61 streets and it's so big that you can spot it from the air. Plus the distractions of pretty lights, soft scarves, and guys calling out "hey lady" adds to your level of stress. And as if that's not enough...you don't want to look to much at the vendors or the items because then the "hey lady" turns into "looking is free" which then results in feeling terrible as you walk away and you know they are still speaking to you, even if it's not in a language you understand. We did see various sections: jewelry, textiles, ceramics, clothes, & general tourist
stuffs.
My case in point? I was looking for a gift for one of my friends. A booth looked promising and so I was led to an itty bitty room with thousands of scarves. When I didn't see anything that would work we thanked them for their time and left. Well, we tried. "Ali", my soon-to-be Turkish boyfriend, offered to show us
jijim. Um what?
Dangit Katie, why do you always want to learn about things?
And that's how we ended up sitting on the couch and beautiful woven blankets were spread out, all over the room. "Ali" showed us the various "California Party Blankets" as we sipped hot apple tea.
Jijim are from Anatolia and still handmade by women using looms. They are often made as part of a bride's hope chest and as such, often two matching ones are made- one to take and one to leave at home with her family. All are unique depending on the region and woman creating them. And they are beautiful!
Between sharing his family's story, the culture of these blankets we learned that "Ali" had lived in New York, and then asked if I was a lawyer because it's clear I am a strong woman.
Really? Well, he was a lawyer out there (allegedly) until he moved back home to help with the family business of the 6 carpet shops, a few restaurants, and a hotel.
When I asked about the stack of fabric still on the shelf he showed me the beautiful silk squares of fabric. I laughed and made a comment that my dog would get on it and ruin it.
Hey, why should I be totally honest with the guy? I bet he wasn't 100% honest with me! Turns out he has a cat. That sleeps with him every night. And then he showed me the pattern of the one he's had for 13 years on his bed, and offered to show it to us if we came over to his house.
Ha. Lawyer turned business man? Deadly combination.
After over a hour sitting, making small talk, flirting, trying not to totally insult him on making him drop the price but not paying nearly what he wanted me to for the 4 items we reached a price and drinks later at his restaurant.
Oops. Totally didn't keep that date but it knocked another $50 off the price.
Even after the sale we sat and chatted over another round of apple tea, took pictures, and heard more about the life of a
millionaire in Istanbul. Oh and I learned his real name is Sela.
See? I told you I didn't think he was telling us the truth! His business card did in fact show a longer name but it started with Sela, so I guess we were finally in that point of our relationship I could learn his real name?
As we got up to leave he presented me with a scarf he picked out to match my outfit. Aw, apparently I either made an impression, he was happy to have made his first sale of the day, or, most likely, I didn't do as good as I thought I had. Oh well. I love what I got and am happy with the price I paid for the items and all the entertainment I had along the way. Sometimes the best souvenirs from a trip isn't the item but the story behind the item- you know?
We continued walking through the market for some time after, basking in all the attention, trying to figure out what else we
needed. After asking a million people about the lamps I finally settled on one...partly out of exhausting of playing the "Let's Make a Deal" game, but mostly because I couldn't remember where the booth was with the green one I liked so much!
Mısır Çarşısı (The Egyptian/Spice Bazaar)
Round two of our market shopping lead us to the Spice Market with a list of booth numbers we had read about and a rough idea about the L-shaped building filled with vendors selling spices, dried fruit, and lokum (Turkish delight).
Much calmer than the Grand Bazaar, the Egyptian Market has only been around since 1660. It was originally constructed as part of the nearby mosque to help fund the upkeep of the mosque. The name, Egyptian Market, comes from the fact that many of the items sold in the market were routed through Cario.
We walked up and down the market most of the vendors had the same bins and piles of spices- and giving us samples which turned out to be our lunch this afternoon. Our first stop was booth #51 where we tasted several spice options but ended up walking out with various types of tea: Istanbul tea, apple tea, anit-stress tea, spicy tea. Oh and a 1/2 kilo of lokum for the coworkers (that's still sitting on my desk unopened....oops.)
We stopped in a several booths within the market, but I think we had more success on the surrounding street, outside the actual market structure. This is where I scored on some curry powder and spicy meat seasoning at a fraction of the price it was being sold for inside. My favorite part of this booth? When I said I was from California, they guy said "California almonds" as he pointed to the bin of almonds.
Hands down the experience of this market was the last booth we hit. A tiny older man pulled us in and just started handing us pinches of various spices after listing off about 15 states for some reason. The first one he handed us was the Istanbul seasoning which from what I could tell consists of peppers, oregano, parsley, salt, paprika and some things along that line. It sure packed a punch! Our next sample? I wish I had a recording of this because even with each time I retell it, I can't help but laugh and then really question my rationale for going along with it...
Vendor: Here, try this. He extends his index finger with a tiny clear crystal on it.
Me: Um, what is it?
Vendor pushing it onto the palm of my hand: Lemon salt
Me looking at Marlene to make sure she knows what's going on I cautionsly try it: It is salt! And it's very lemon flavored. Marlene, you've got to try this!
Turns out you can use this salt for just about anything: fish, salad, soup, meat, gin & tonics (yeah, I was hooked on that one), and if you drink it daily for a few months it's a good cleanse. Sold! I'll take 100grams, vacuumed packed. By the way is the best prop ever when retelling your tale to all your coworkers about the random crystal tasting you did with their coworker you were responsible for.
Over all, both markets proved to be worth the hours we spent walking through them. It was not only a great way to leave our money in the city, but also to chat with locals and really experience a portion of the culture. The vendors took time explaining their wares over coffee and tea and were never pushy! Next time I go back (yep, I love it that much, I'm already talking about the next time) I may just do a shopping weekend with a map so I can make sure I don't get lost in my quest for the best deal.
The cats of Istanbul were all very friendly and with the exception of a few, most had plenty of padding on their bones and didn't look too mangy. Nico's double was one that had an wound and it made me feel so guilty I left him home alone for another long weekend. 
