As today is our last day in IstanbulWe devoted most of the day to shoppingBuying gifts and keepsakes for ourselvesFirst we headed to the spice marketWhere we loaded up on different spicesWe went to stall 51Where Rick Stein went making his most recent cookery and travel showFor anyone that doesn't knowHe is an English chefWho made a show recently About cooking from Greece to Istanbul
AnywayAfter taking many photosSee belowWe braved the Grand Bizarre Which is the largest indoor market in the worldWith 4000 shopsIt employs 30,000 peopleThankfully it wasn't too busy todayWe stocked up on gifts for family and friendsAs well as a couple of things for ourselvesI bought Turkish slippers And a Turkish bathrobeAll for very little It was an amazing experienceEverywhere you go People are shouting at youAsking where you are fromAnd do you want to buy what ever they are sellingAs they will give you 'special price'For 'special lady'If you showed the slightest bit of interest in their waresThey literally pounce on you!
We had a very interesting experience in one of the many scarf shopsIt was the first shop that we showed interest inThere were two guys working thereI touched one of the scarves And he went in for the killHe brought me in to the shopDraped the scarf beautifully around meI asked how muchHe said 110 Turkish LiraAs I began to leave the shopHe knocked it down to 90Then 80I refused and said we would be backAnd as we walked awayOne of the guys followed usAnd dropped his price to 70At the end of the day we did go backThe same two guys gave us a great welcomeBrought us in to the shopI wanted to buy oneMum wanted to buy a couple And my brothers partner also wanted a coupleThe two guys sat us down And displayed beautiful scarf after beautiful scarfThe guy dealing with us had quite good EnglishSo we spoke in Irish amongst ourselves Which became very confusing indeedSuddenly The guy asked us if we wanted apple teaWe said yesHe rang someone on his phoneTwo minutes later someone arrived with a little wooden tableAnd erected it in the middle of the shopFollowing thatA tray with six Apple teasI swear it felt like we were in that shop foreverHe said he would give us the four scarves for 270TLSo we agreed to that He packed them for us And we headed outBut just as we were leaving He called my mother backAnd offered her one more scarf for 40 TLSo in allWe ended up with five scarves for 310 TLAnd given they were cashmereIt was a bargain
Below are photos of the dayHope you enjoy And you get to experience a little bit of Turkey...