Day 31
The Grand Bazaar
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Merhaba,
We woke this morning to a beautiful sunny day. The perfect day for a bit of shopping at the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul.
More importantly, today was Debbie’s 39th birthday. Again.
We came up with the plan to walk to the Grand Bazaar, then later in the afternoon we could take the tram back to our hotel. It was a lovely morning for a walk and in hindsight we are glad we did it.
Istanbul is on a scale Grandma and Koro have never experienced before. With a population of over ten million people, Istanbul is a Mega-City. Depending on which source you read, the population is about fifteen million, making it the largest city in Europe. And there must be at least another million of tourists visiting the place. There are people, cars and noise everywhere.
Just down from our hotel, on the way to Galata Bridge, all the streets and alleyways were filled with hardware stores. Dozens and dozens of hardware stores. All of them quite specialised. Some were hand tools only. There was one that only sold bearings, but had every type and size of bearing you could imagine. Another sold power tools, and yet another specialised in taps and plumbing supplies. The amount of stock each store had was incredible. Koro’s dad would have loved this place, he would have spent all day poking through the hardware shops.
We walked over the Galata Bridge, crossed the road on the other side of the bridge, and started up the hill towards the Grand Bazaar. And it was a sloooow climb. Narrow streets, thousands of people, and shops everywhere overflowing with clothing and shoes. People were stopping to browse and haggle over prices. Or simply stopping to gawp.
Grandma saw some Nike tights at a bargain price and nabbed a couple of pairs.
We quickly came to realise that when shopping in this part of town, you need cash. Leave the bank card at home, no one wants to see it. Cash is king.
We finally reached the Grand Bazaar and it was yet another eye-opener.
The Grand Bazaar has been here in various forms since 1455. It is a very beautiful place. And it has definitely seen some changes, as evidenced by some of the old wiring Koro saw. There was no need for wiring when the Bazaar was built! Over the years it must all have been added ad-hoc. Modern trunking has been installed in some places, so there must be a project to replace the ugly old wiring with modern wiring routed through trunking, which will make the old place look so much better.
Shops are grouped according to the products they sell. Gold jewellery shops are all together, carpet shops together, and so on.
For her birthday Deb’s wanted a leather jacket. Deb’s had promised herself a leather jacket when she was in Türkiye, and fair enough.
Except, at least from the perspective of Koro & Buzzy Bee, Deb’s wasn’t sure what style of leather jacket she wanted. And there were dozens of stores, each with thousands of leather jackets to look at and try!
At first glance, these stores are tiny, packed tight with stock. Yet when you go inside, you get ushered upstairs, and there’s even MORE stock to choose from! The whole shop is filled with that lovely smell of new leather.
The very thoughtful store owners also provide comfortable chairs and couches for husbands and bees to sit quietly and obediently while the ladies shop.
The patter of the salesmen is also funny to listen to. They always start with a high price, and start reducing it with offers to entice you.
“You are my first customer today, you will bring me luck, for you I offer this price, this is best price. And, madam, all my jackets you see, made in Türkiye. Best quality, best quality.”
Then as we'd go to leave the shop, the salesman would really put the pressure on, with an even lower price.
Poor Deb's, she was so confused, but still hadn't seen the right jacket. "I'll know it when I see it", she said.
Koro and Buzzy Bee just looked at each other. Buzzy Bee said, "Know it when I see it?". Koro just shrugged his shoulders. Then they both went back to sleep.
Suddenly, in the window of another leather shop, Deb's and Grandma saw a bright orange leather jacket that was reversible. It didn't suit Deb's, but it sure did look good on Grandma! So Grandma had found herself a jacket.
Then the salesman brought out a short, red leather jacket. When Deb's tried it on, Koro, Grandma and Buzzy Bee all said, "Wow!". Deb's looked hot!
Grandma and Deb's both bought their leather jackets and looked well pleased with themselves. As they should be. Both jackets are made from beautifully soft leather, are well tailored, and were very well priced.
After all that leather jacket shopping we needed lunch. We tried to find somewhere ourselves. In the end, the nephew of a carpet salesman (don't ask!) led us to a fantastic restaurant where we had a beautiful lunch for a very cheap price.
After lunch, Grandma had spied a bag shop. She had been thinking about getting a small bag to wear across her chest for her phone and a few small items. It would also mean that Buzzy Bee could see forwards. In the back pack Buzzy Bee can only see backwards.
Buzzy Bee was quite delighted when Grandma selected a Louis Vuitton bag to try. He nestled into the black leather quite happily.
At ₺1,700 (about NZD$80) Grandma deemed it too expensive.
"Too expensive!", cried Buzzy Bee, "For a grandchild, yes, far too expensive. But this is me, Buzzy Bee. Don't I deserve Louis Vuitton?".
The answer from Grandma was very firm, "No, I'm not paying that much."
We kept wandering, but the noise, the crowds, the chaos, and increasingly the scooter riders who insisted on riding through the crowds, just became too much. We were buggered.
We flowed with the crowds out of the Grand Bazaar, through the narrow streets, down the hill, back from where we had come in the morning.
Down a side street, in a small corner stall packed with bags, Grandma spied a grey Nike bag that was only ₺300. There is always room to haggle in the bazaar, and cash talks with the loudest voice. So when Grandma cheekily handed the man (who was flat out and very busy) ₺250, he just smiled and accepted it.
Buzzy Bee sits happily in the Nike bag and is pleased to be able to see forwards instead of backwards. But it's not Louis Vuitton.
We didn't take the tram as we had planned, we just walked home, across the Galata Bridge and back to our hotel.
After such a busy day we were parched. We enjoyed a quiet drink at a local bar. Later, both Deb's and Grandma both wore their new jackets to dinner. The handsome young waiter was somewhat nonplussed that boring old Koro had two leather-clad hotties dining with him.
We bid a warm farewell to Deb's who had a very early start in the morning, flying to Cappadocia. Grandma and Koro have a few more days to explore the amazing city of Istanbul.
It was a warm evening, so after saying farewell to Deb's, Grandma and Koro wandered up to Galata Tower. The streets were filled with people enjoying ice cream and coffee in the streets surrounding the tower. The tower itself is perched on top of a steep hill, so from the top there must be a stunning view of the city. But it is expensive to go up, tickets were €37.50 each. As Buzzy Bee could tell you, that's too expensive for Grandma's tastes!
Love to you all from Grandma & Koro & Buzzy Bee.