This historical bazaar is well known all over the world for her massive stores to shop. Bargaining…read moreis a must! Due to the large amount of people it is wise to watch your belongings while shopping. I love to go off the tourist beaten path, and I found a gem in this place. Being a foodies, i follow my nose & instinct alot of the times. I found the oldest restaurant in Grand Bazaar, first open in 1959, called Havuzlu Restaurant. When shopping for Turkish lamps and carpets becareful as some are from China. Before shopping is good to do some reseach ahead of time how to detect the difference.

I did a walking tour in Istanbul. Our last stop was at the Grand Bazaar. I have been told that it…read moreis the largest market in the city. It's huge! You can easily get lost looking at a ton of merchandise. I bought M&M's cell phone cases. I also got Turkish tea. You can score pretty decent deals. If you need to bring back gifts, this place is for you. It does get busy. Pack patience with you! (106)

I really cant say enough good things about the experience we had in this shop. We stopped in to…read moreshop on the way to the Bazaars as our hotel was in the Galata area. We were encouraged to look around and ask questions without being hassled or pressured in the slightest. the prices were very fair. We returned from the Bazaars excited to get our shop on and we were not disappointed! We were allowed to swap globes with different lamps, hunt for the "right" tea set, and I swear we looked at every single lamp....twice! The shop keeper was very patient and helpful and carefully wrapped everything in bubble wrap so well that it all made it home in our luggage with no breaks or cracks at all. The prices were much cheaper than the Bazaars and we didnt need to haggle to feel like we got a great value. The shop keeper also told us that they use WhatsApp to video chat with customers and ship internationally. I will say that they MUCH prefer cash over credit cards as do most merchants in Istanbul.