Hotels near The Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar has been trading since 1461, when Mehmed the Conqueror ordered the first covered hall built after taking the city. It now runs to around 4,000 shops along 61 covered streets under painted vaults, with 22 gates, and it is among the largest and oldest covered markets anywhere. Carpets, gold, ceramics, leather and lamps dominate, and the Ic Bedesten at the centre is the original core where the highest-value goods were locked up each night.

It closes on Sundays and public holidays and shuts around 7pm otherwise. Haggling is expected and the opening number is usually well above what the seller will accept. October matters here mostly because it is indoors and dry, which makes it the obvious plan when the rain arrives. Getting lost is unavoidable and mostly the point; the gates are numbered and signposted in English.

Pro Tip: Walk out of the western gates into the Beyazit book market and the streets around Mahmutpasa. That is where Istanbul actually shops, prices are a third of the bazaar's, and it is a five-minute walk from the tourist core.