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GRAND COVERED BAZAAR You could visit Istanbul for the shopping alone. The Kapali Carsi, or Covered Bazaar, in the old city is the logical place to start. This labyrinth of streets and passages houses more than 4000 shops. The names recall the days when each trade had its own quarter: the goldsmiths' street, the carpet sellers' street, the street of the skullcap makers. Still the commercial center of the old city, the bazaar is the original shopping mall with something to suit every taste and pocket.
Turkish crafts, the world-renowned carpets, brilliant hand-painted ceramics, copper and brass ware, and meerschaum pipes make charming souvenirs and gifts. The gold jewelry in brilliantly lit cases blinds the passers-by. Leather and suede goods of excellent quality represent a relatively inexpensive purchase. The Old Bedesten, in the heart of the bazaar, offers a curious assortment of antiques. It is worth poking through the clutter of decades in the hope of finding a treasure. |
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