Lonely Planet İstanbul Guide

TOP SIGHT SPICE BAZAAR

Vividly coloured spices are displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish Delight) at this Ottoman-era marketplace, providing eye candy for the thousands of tourists and locals who visit each day. Stalls also sell dried herbs, caviar, nuts, honey in the comb, dried fruits and pestil (fruit pressed into sheets and dried). It’s a great place to stock up on edible souvenirs.

DAVID MADISON/GETTY IMAGES ©

The market was constructed in the 1660s as part of the New Mosque, with rent from the shops supporting the upkeep of the mosque as well as its charitable activities, which included a school, hamam and hospital. The name Mısır Çarşısı (Egyptian Market) comes from the fact that the building was initially endowed with taxes levied on goods imported from Egypt. In its heyday the