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Kapali Carsi, Istanbul

3.8

#1 of 712 in Shopping in Turkey

Flea Market Shopping

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Wander the multitude of shops, feast your eyes on the colorful array of offerings, and haggle for traditional Turkish goods at Kapali Carsi, one of the world's oldest and largest covered markets. This bazaar, home to over 4,000 artisan shops, is essentially a maze of sheltered streets featuring Turkish carpets, ceramics, lamps, scarves, jewelry, and more. Located in the "Walled City," the site dates back to the 15th century. Today crowds from cruise ships swarm the bazaar in the summertime and visitors to the city spend hours bargaining with merchants. Enjoy the enthusiastic vendors, who will typically offer you Turkish coffee or tea while you peruse their goods. Plan your Kapali Carsi visit and explore what else you can see and do in Istanbul using our Istanbul online day trip planner .

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Kapali Carsi Reviews

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TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

11,506 reviews

Google

4.4

facebook

4.5

214 likes

• By John071

  The salesmen are all on their mobiles. Nobody seems interested to serve the customer. No problem, the city is full with shops.  more »

• By frunsfe

  Lo que más me llamó la atención fue el olor a especias, se siente hasta en la calle. Es un Bazar muy pequeñito, pero con mucho encanto. Así como el Gran Bazar nos decepcionó, el Bazar de las especias ...  more »

  What struck me most was the smell of spices, it feels even on the street. It is a very small Bazaar, but with a lot of charm. Just as the Grand Bazaar disappointed us, the Spice Bazaar we loved. In almost all the shops have the same, but the atmosphere is very nice.
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• By Med Elamine Belkhir

  Grand bazaar / Istanbul It is known to be the oldest shopping area with more than 4000 shops in the area which means more options to look for. It is important to take time and go there because it is massive and the collection is just so good. The scarves were exquisite, the coats were different, shoes were to die for (and so were the prices) The Turkish delights is a specialty and it is a personal recommendation to buy as many boxes as you can carry. We tried apple tea in hot water and it tasted amazing. Those aren't the only flavors available. There is pomegranate, blueberry, strawberry etc. Crockery is highly recommended to buy, porcelain crockery is quite famous out there. Bargaining is a must. They will be a little rude so be prepared. At the end, as we were departing, we cooled ourselves down with fresh pomegranate juice - which is a specialty there too. There is more to Grand Bazaar but the experience of discovering that yourself is great.

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• By Tomislav Hren

  Beautiful place. Old marketplace. Definitely must see. It's very big. You could easily be there entire day. Prices around the bazaar are slightly cheaper so I recommend to go around bazaar if you want to buy something and only take a walk inside bazaar. All in all, very beautiful.

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