Hotels near The Spice Bazaar and Eminonu

The Spice Bazaar was completed in 1664 as part of the New Mosque complex, funded by duties on goods from Cairo, which is why Turkish speakers still call it the Egyptian Bazaar. It is far smaller than the Grand Bazaar, an L-shaped hall of about 85 shops, and denser: saffron, sumac, dried fruit, Turkish delight, pistachios and tea piled in open sacks under vaulted brick.

October is harvest season and the streets outside are better than the hall itself. The lanes running west towards Rustem Pasa Mosque hold the fish market, the pickle sellers, the coffee grinders at Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi and the cheese shops, all of them selling to Istanbul rather than to visitors. New-season walnuts, pomegranates, quince and chestnuts all arrive now, and roasted chestnut carts appear on the streets through the month.

Pro Tip: Buy nothing inside the hall. Walk out of the western end into the surrounding streets, where the same saffron and pistachios sell for a fraction of the price to local shoppers, then climb the stairs to Rustem Pasa Mosque, which has better Iznik tilework than the Blue Mosque and almost no visitors.