Bazaar
 

Myself and a friend will be traveling to Greece in September and are planning on a couple of days in Instabul, Turkey. Have heard that the Bazaar there is great. Any information or suggestions? Places or things to see in that short time period.

The Bazaar is great. Bargain, bargain, bargain.

There are plenty of places to see. It is the most fascinating city in Europe. Get a good guidebook and pick your pleasure. A couple of days isn't much for Istanbul so plan it out.

Purchase small items or things that you can wear. Go at the end of the trip--not the beginning.

Just came back for 3 days in Istanbul with family - we had a great time. It was my second trip - but first for my husband and kids.

We hit the major sites - Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, underground cistern, obelisks (all 4 of these are in the same location) and also did a tour of Dolmobahce Palace. We skipped Topkapi Palace on this trip (I saw it last time).

At Dolmobahce you must take a guided tour, but in the other places - I just used our guidebooks. Of course, there are plenty of guides available outside the sights if you want to hire them.

There are also LOTS of guys hanging around who will give you information, insisting they are NOT guides. However, it will turn out - they (or their family) own a shop nearby (rug, leather, ceramics). We got "trapped" by one such gentleman who took us to his family's rug shop. Fortunately, we had already planned on buying a small rug, so we looked at a ton of rugs, drank tea, picked our rug, bargained like crazy and walked away with our purchase. Did we get a deal? Probably not - but it was a fair price and the experience was fun.

As for the Grand Bazaar - it is spectacular! Lots and lots of things to look at and buy. Be prepared - the vendors are rather aggressive (altho not as bad as the ones in Egypt). Just smile, say lots of "no thank yous" and have fun! We bought a chessboard made of inlaid wood and mother-of-pearl, lots of ceramics (plates, bowls, tiles), and a few pieces of jewelry. We didn't buy much more because I had purchased quite a few things on my last trip!

The Arista Bazaar, just behind the Blue Mosque is also quite nice. It is small (just 1 long strip of shops) but the merchandise is lovely - probably a little better quality than you would get in the Grand Bazaar - but also a little steeper prices!

Have a great time - Istanbul is a wonderful city!

In addition to the so-called "Grand" Bazaar described above, you might also be interestes in a visit to the Spice Bazaar.

If this is your first trip I would definitely recommend a visit to the Topkapi Palace/Museum.

There are several bazaars in the area which are kind of connected. You will find there really unique things and good prices and you will have a lot of fun. You have to negociate. Never pay more than half of the initial price.
Good bargains are silver jewelry, icons and antiques. In the spice bazaar, you can buy caviar at very good prices.