Grand Bazaar
One of the oldest and largest covered markets on earth: 61 streets, some 4,000 shops and 22 gates under Ottoman vaults since 1461 — closed on Sundays, open for bargaining the rest of the week.
Mehmed the Conqueror founded the bazaar in 1461, two stone bedestens for valuables that streets of shops grew around until the whole district was roofed. Today the Kapalıçarşı covers 30 hectares of vaulted lanes organised by trade — jewellers on Kalpakçılar Caddesi, carpets around the İç Bedesten, leather, lamps, ceramics and textiles in their own quarters — and receives up to 400,000 visitors a day.
Hours and orientation
- Open Monday–Saturday about 09:00–19:00; closed Sundays and on the first days of religious holidays.
- Main gates: Nuruosmaniye (from Sultanahmet, the grand entrance) and Beyazıt (from the tram); 20 others lead into the surrounding hans.
- Tram T1 to Beyazıt–Kapalıçarşı or Çemberlitaş; 10 minutes on foot from Hagia Sophia.
- Above the shops, the roofs and the hans — Zincirli Han, Sandal Bedesteni, Büyük Valide Han nearby — are where the workshops and the calm are.
Buying and bargaining
Worth it: gold sold by weight, hand-knotted carpets and kilims from a shop that lets you walk away, İznik-style ceramics, leather jackets made to fit in a day, Turkish towels and lamps. Bargaining is expected on everything except gold weight and food: open at roughly half the asking price, be friendly, and be ready to leave — you will be called back. Cards are accepted nearly everywhere; cash in lira buys a better price.
Frequently asked questions
No — it is closed every Sunday and on the first day or two of Ramadan Bayramı and Kurban Bayramı. The Spice Bazaar nearby opens on Sundays.
