We read about a large market on the Asian side (where we are staying), and decided to go there. We got the address and directions from a web site on local Istanbul markets, and off we went. First we walk to the metro, take that to the end of the line, then find bus 8A, and take that for seven stops and get off.
When we got off the bus, there is a 40,000 sq ft hole in the ground with a sign for the Mandarin Hotel construction project! Huh??? We walked into a local store and ask about the bazaar. He looks quizzically at us until we find an alternate word in our digital dictionary. The owner then says in broken English “Pazar. No more” as he swipes his hands together to emphasize the point. He then says we can walk a kilometer to get to the new location. Off we go.
A couple block later, we decided to stop in a little tienda for a drink, since it was getting hot and we suspected 1 km might be an underestimate. Evelyn asked that owner for confirmation. “Yes,” he said, “Pazar has moved. There is a free bus that takes customers to the new pazar” as he points for us to go a block to the signal light, then turn right.
We walk to the shuttle location, where we find one matronly woman waiting. Through hand signs and “pazar” as our only word in common, she confirms we are in the right location, so we wait. Half an hour later, the shuttle (a minivan) arrives, and we are off again — for roughly 5km (not 1…), including a stretch of freeway we would not have been allowed to walk.
Where do we find ourselves? At the largest neighborhood bazaar in Istanbul… right next to a metro station halfway back home (Göztepe)… We took a very long way and time to get here, but at least the route home was short.
The first section was filled with fruits and vegetables, just as we would find in any of the larger mercados in Cuenca. The food appeared more fresh and larger than ones we’ve seen at our local markets, and the prices much lower than the other markets we have visited. We ended up buying a few bags of fruit to sample. Since we were leaving Turkey soon, we couldn’t really get much.
There were also large sections of the bazaar dedicated to dry goods of all types. Designer blue jeans (meaning pre-ripped…) for 25TL (about $8 US), blouses for 5TL (less than $2US), etc. Women gathered around vendors, sizing up clothing items (no dressing rooms), picking up and feeling plates, tossing linen and towels to test their weight. There was clearly a LOT of merchandise sold, and you could sense a buying frenzy whenever new stock were brought in. We saw many women with wheeled carts and large shopping bags filled with goods all day long.
Mehmet (the guide for the photo tour we took back in April) says that every neighborhood has a local bazaar, but that this is the largest one in Istanbul. When we visited the Grand Bazaar in April, we found most of the shoppers were tourists, with vendors constantly hawking their wares, trying to get every passing tourist to come into their shop.
The vibe here was very different. There were only a few hawkers, and those were generally busy slinging their goods into bags while singing out their pitch to attract others. Even more important though — we were the only tourists in the entire place. It was packed with people actively buying, but everyone apparently lived in the area, buying goods they would take home and use that night. This was clearly a successful, active market used by locals, rather than a tourist trap.
Whenever our cameras lifted, there was always a vendor shouting out “take picture of me!” This was another place where the people were universally friendly and inviting. It was quite a treat to take a photograph, and have that person then say “sağol” (Turkish for “thank you“) and hand us free samples of their food to show their appreciation.
I just had to add one more block of the friendly faces we saw today. Turkey will always stay in our memory as one of the most friendly countries we have ever visited.