A stop at the Grand Bazaar

Grand Bazaar

If there is a place you can't miss in Istanbul, apart from the Blue Mosque, it's the Grand Bazaar. Everybody knows their clients are mostly tourists, but it's still interesting to walk through it.

First conclusion : this place is very crowded.

Second conclusion : one needs to negotiate a lot to get a good price. We know they are going to make a lot of money because of us, but most things can be found at different stands, so it is possible to compare the prices.

Other life lesson, after finding very high prices : if the man (most of the sellers are men) is not nice, he doesn't deserve your money. You need to at least have a little fun. If you stay nice too, it is possible to get a very good discount.

Spices, tea, candies, scarves, wallets, chess games, toys, hookahs... you can find anything at any price.

And without a good sense of orientation, it is possible you get lost easily.

What was interesting was to get lost in the small streets behind the bazaar when we exited. The true Istanbul life, with women taking care of children in the streets, was just in front of us. It was beautiful and made us want to take our time.

In the afternoon, we finally stopped in Aya Sofia, that old mosque they converted in a museum. What you can see there is catholic images under the Muslim paintings...

We then stopped at the Blue Mosque again because we found out it was impossible to get in, for tourists, when it's prayer time. But in the community center next to it, they explain what Islam is all about... for free. Tea and sweets are also free...

We ended the night at the hostel, where they offered us fish on the barbecue... and some silly weird games to enjoy ourselves. Hostel life is also about that.