After lunch at Alti Kapi in Capa we got the tram five stops back towards Sultanahmet to the much overrated Grand Bazaar.
If you're already in the area feel free to visit but overpriced rugs and tacky soveigners have consumed much of it. the antiques section in the very centre is worth exploring and there's a shop in the textiles section (like all of Istanbul shops are grouped by what they sell) that sells beautiful handmade, beaded, floral jewellery but other than that it was a little underwhelming. Basically a couple of hundred year old shopping centre with people yelling at you. The book section is supposed to be good if you read Turkish.
Be warned the Turkish can be vicious salesmen. Either their leaping out of no where to loudly proclaim the virtues of their products or they'll be slowly helpful and get your life story out of you until you feel guilt ridden enough to buy something - they're just so damn likeable. Shopping in the tourist areas of Istanbul is not for the faint of heart.
Getting to the more genuine shopping areas might mean a bit less English but you're also less likely to get followed around the shop.
Get off the tram at Eminoue will bring you to the ferry port. Getting the ferry to Kadikoy was my first crossing of the Bosporus and my first trip to Asia.
Sean used to live in the area so he took us through a twisting maze of lovely streets up the hill on the right from the ferry port that lead to a food market and small unusual shops.
We came up through old cafe were people of all ages sat outside playing chess and backgammon. Antique shops stacked old furniture and restored gramophones on the pavements. If I hadn't had to fly home I could have spent a fortune here.
One junk shop had an incredible array of clocks.
Down the hill from there were some restaurants and a large selection of second hand bookshops, most of which had English language sections so I picked up some Twain and Shakespeare for a couple of euros. Then Sean hiked us over to the fashionable residential area of Moda, which literally means fashion in Turkish. There isn't much to visit but a row of cafes by the water that only sell turkish coffee, chay (tea) and fizzy drinks.
The views are good though.
We got the ferry back (a word to the wise DON'T USE THE TOILETS) and walked from the ferry port at Karikoy (not to be confused with Kadikoy where we had been on the Asian side) then walked to where Sean lived in Ortakoy (lots of koys its Turkish for town and in like half of the place names).
All along the road were pictures of Ataturk through his life on the wall.
The Rest Cafe fulfilled its name with sparkling views up the Bosporus and back into the remains of a book market closing for the evening.
The area's full of trendy bars to get a drink and feel safe even into the night. Istanbul, even with its big social divides is a remarkably safe-feeling city.
Taxis a very cheap in Istanbul and well worth getting but insist that they display the meter from the start or you will get ripped off. Unless you get stuck in a lot of traffic you shouldn't pay more than 25 TL.
Sean used to live in the area so he took us through a twisting maze of lovely streets up the hill on the right from the ferry port that lead to a food market and small unusual shops.
We came up through old cafe were people of all ages sat outside playing chess and backgammon. Antique shops stacked old furniture and restored gramophones on the pavements. If I hadn't had to fly home I could have spent a fortune here.
One junk shop had an incredible array of clocks.
Down the hill from there were some restaurants and a large selection of second hand bookshops, most of which had English language sections so I picked up some Twain and Shakespeare for a couple of euros. Then Sean hiked us over to the fashionable residential area of Moda, which literally means fashion in Turkish. There isn't much to visit but a row of cafes by the water that only sell turkish coffee, chay (tea) and fizzy drinks.
The views are good though.
We got the ferry back (a word to the wise DON'T USE THE TOILETS) and walked from the ferry port at Karikoy (not to be confused with Kadikoy where we had been on the Asian side) then walked to where Sean lived in Ortakoy (lots of koys its Turkish for town and in like half of the place names).
All along the road were pictures of Ataturk through his life on the wall.
The Rest Cafe fulfilled its name with sparkling views up the Bosporus and back into the remains of a book market closing for the evening.
The area's full of trendy bars to get a drink and feel safe even into the night. Istanbul, even with its big social divides is a remarkably safe-feeling city.
Taxis a very cheap in Istanbul and well worth getting but insist that they display the meter from the start or you will get ripped off. Unless you get stuck in a lot of traffic you shouldn't pay more than 25 TL.
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