Plan on a Spicy Istanbul Visit for your Next Turkey Holiday

A holiday to Turkey is one of those exciting trips that you look forward to for weeks or months. There’s so much to do and see that it can be hard to settle on a definite plan of where you’ll go. One of the things you absolutely must do if you are in Istanbul for any length of time on a holiday to Turkey is to visit the Spice Bazaar.

Spices at the bazaar (wiki image)

The Istanbul Spice Market (sometimes called the Egyptian Bazaar) is full of colour and movement. There are hundreds of vendors vying for your attention and custom. So how do you decide what to buy and what to pass up in this busy place that assails your senses?

Your best finds will most likely come from the traditional vendors in the market. Which ones are they, I hear you ask! The traditional vendors tend to be the ones who have specialised in a product and are selling only that one item or variations of it. For example a stall selling all kinds of Turkish delight has a very good chance of being a traditional sole trader or a family stall. Maybe you’ll find a huge range of dried fruit and nuts and not much else. Once again, this will most likely be a family seller and probably your best bet for quality and service in the Spice Bazaar.

More modern vendors have of course moved into this historic selling space and you will be able to tell who these are as they tend to sell a little bit of everything. A small range of Turkish delight, a few different kinds of dried fruit, small selections of nuts, some spices, dried flowers and various other wares will be on offer.

Turish Delight (wiki image)

A Turkey holiday would not be complete without loads of photos showing the gorgeous colours used everywhere in clothing, pottery and architecture. Make sure you take your camera when you visit the Spice Bazaar. The colours of all the spices alone make it worth taking quite a few shots.
If you decide to purchase some spices be sure to smell and taste them before you purchase. As well as using a traditional vendor, you should rely on your senses to tell you the quality of the goodies you are buying. Stories abound of bags of nuts that weren’t quite right when the buyer got them home or heavily promoted spice mixes that turned out to be suspiciously like a crushed up stock cube! Buyer beware – taste, taste, taste before you purchase!

When you plan your Turkey holiday with a stop in Istanbul make sure you leave plenty of time for your Spice Bazaar visit. As well as all the interesting food stuffs there are many more vendors who are set up to sell clothing, souvenirs and anything else a foreigner may fancy. As in years gone by the Istanbul Spice Bazaar is a place where foreigners gather to purchase foreign items. Just imagine what secrets you might discover here!