The spices looked and smelled wonderful. The rolls of Lokum, Turkish Delight looked good and i…read morepurchased 3 kg to share with family and friends over the holidays. All purchased goods were sealed in vacuum packed bags for travel. Three weeks later I discovered maggot worms inside the sealed bag of Lokum. After opening the bag and box there were worms on the Lokum itself. There appear to be no worms in the spices so far.

Gözde is loaded with high quality specialty foods from around Turkey. Adam is particularly helpful…read morewhen I go there. When you go, ask for him by name. I always drop in whenever I need to buy Turkish delight or high quality spices.

After reading some reviews from various places on where to go in the spice bazaar, the name…read moreArifoglu came up a few times. So I made some notes on what I wanted to buy, how much I can get it in the states, and prices in various sizes. When I went to the spice bazaar I took mental note of what prices they had of various spices and what they were selling them for, as one place had one Sumac for 10TL more for a half a kg then Arifoglu had for a whole kg. So after looking around for a while I stopped in Arifoglu, they man with glasses helped me and he was super nice. He saw my list and asked to see it so I gave it to him. He beat all the prices on my sheet, as well as giving me 10% off everything too. Since I also bought about 3 lbs of spices he threw in something for me too. I bought some saffron from him as well. It was funny because I bought some Iranian saffron, and I brought a sample from home to make sure it was the same stuff since I'm not a spice savant that can tell the difference between the real and real looking fake stuff. He was impressed and give me another discount off the top. It was still al little more than you can get it in the US if you know where to go. But I figured I give it a try. I mentioned Turkish saffron as gift for friends who didn't cook who wanted it. And he scoffed and said Turkish saffron is stuff other places they sell to tourist who don't know better. I thought it was funny that he admitted that. Not only would I come back here if I needed spice and was back in Istanbul. I stopped in again before I left to pick up a few other things I decided to bring back.

Ignore all the other vendors trying to get you in to their stores as you walk through the Spice…read moreBazaar and head straight here. They don't hassle people to come in because they don't need to. They have a great variety of spices & herbs at great prices. But what drew me in was the big sign I thought was kind of funny: "mysterious scent of harem"... I had to investigate. I'm glad I went in, a whole wall is dedicated to their selection of perfumed and essential oils... It was amazing. I wish I bought more!

I loved this Spice Bazaar, inside it had a beautiful adorned ceiling that made us feel like being…read moreinside a mosque or an Arabic mansion. The bazaar itself was not as crowded as others, it was very well laid out and the store employees were not pushy at all. There are vividly colored spices displayed alongside jewel-like lokum (Turkish delight), providing eye candy for tourists and locals who make their way here every day. Stalls also sell caviar, dried herbs, honey, nuts and dried fruits as well as gold, jewelry and some clothing. Just a great colorful place to wander.....

The Spice Market (SM), in Istanbul Turkey is known to locals and tourists as having one of the best…read moreselections of spices in the world. In addition to spices they also offer several selections of sweets and other candies. Various ingredients make up a wide range of teas, which, are sold at the SM. Some tea mixtures are known to combat cold & flu like symptoms, while others are known to improve circulation and offer other health benefits. Many of the tea leafs are colorful while producing a pleasant aroma. Visitors are provided samples of teas and sweets which, were very flavorful. All purchases are vacuumed sealed for easy transportation back to your destination. The vendors are very welcoming and are eager to discuss the importance and value of tea consumption. Without question, you will be amazed at the abundance of teas and sweet treats, as well as, the size of the SM. I'd also recommend you indulge in a cup of traditional Turkish Tea at the SM while shopping. If you've never had it, it's definitely worth trying. Also impressive is seeing the method in which Turkish coffee is prepared using hot coals.

I like the spice market that located in the prime area with a lot of walking distance attractions…read more This included the river cruise and seafood restaurants at the river, Suleymaiye mosque, grand bazaar and more. The spice market is not big but the surrounding market is a big extension to the market. The best and premium items in the bazaar. The surrounding market vendor gives you bargains with price on the outside. We got the turkey coffee on the outside market. Even the Turkish delight is cheaper at outside.

Attenzione al momento di pagare con carta di credito ci hanno ingannato, anziché pagare 2.200 lire…read moreturche hanno digitato 22.000 lire turche. purtroppo ci siamo accorti troppo tardi.

I mean, you have to visit here, right?! The sights. The sounds. The smells. The haggling…read more Plenty of selection to choose from, whether you are shopping for yourself or someone else. Prices seemed fairly reasonable, even with it being a high tourist area. You definitely shouldn't lack for a helpful guide to assist you with your purchases. Fun to try the samples they are giving out also. Turkish treats and teas a plenty.

This end of the Grand Bazaar is the spice market, and although it's surely worth a visit, it would…read morenot be your best bet for spices. One of our favorite souvenirs is a brass pepper grinder but I prefer to load it up with Penzey's Tellicherry peppercorns. The displayed spices are lovely to admire, but the aggressive sales people can grate on your nerves. Still, you'll be passing through here to visit other sites, especially the Rustem Pasha Mosque so plan for the time.

We picked up some teas and spices here in the Istanbul Spice Market. So many of the shops in the…read moremarket look the same that it's hard to know which ones are good (or if there's even any difference). We chose this one because the listed prices seemed reasonable and there were other patrons inside (but not so many that it was intimidating). The gentleman who helped us was great. He spoke to us in both English and Spanish, cracked lots of jokes, and gave me a little bit of a deal by rounding down the weights of my purchases. He vacuum sealed all of our items for transport back to the United States and facilitated our communication with the cashier for paying. He also recommended an alternative to one of my first pick teas, saying it was better (and it was the same price). He did come on a bit strong trying to sell us Iranian saffron at what he said was a good price of 60 lira per gram (about $25 USD), so I am sure that's a big money-maker for them. If you're in the Spice Market and want to choose a shop to buy from, this little place is a good one to try.