My girlfriend and I were blown away by Ark of Crafts and the curator, Nilufer. It was so much more…read morethan I expected even after reading the great reviews on Trip Advisor. I am happy to be the first to move the tips to Yelpers. We spent an hour in this tiny corner of the beautiful upstairs terrace bar of the Adahan hotel. You just want to pick everything up, feel it, and inspect the fine craftsmanship in the details. And Nilufer is always with you to explain each piece and each artist. These are real artists and much of it is made by or support women. After spending so many days wandering around Istanbul walking into shops wondering what is fake and what is legit it's so refreshing to have someone walk you through some of the real deal items that hold much of Istanbuls charm. I felt more informed when visiting other places like the Grand Bazaar because we came here first! Ornate pottery, detailed painted pieces, fine china, housewares, etc. The space is a wonderful place to spend the hour it should take you to explore. The view from the terrace is a terrific reason too, but go there, have a tea, coffee, beer or wine (apparently there's a great breakfast here, and a nice place for a drink at night too) and let Nilufer be the biggest reason why Ark of Crafts really blows the others out of the water.

From the owner: Ark of Crafts is your online destination to discover the magnificent art and crafts from the…read moreculturally rich Anatolian region (Turkey), home to many civilizations for thousands of years. We are representing the selective works of highly regarded artists and craftsmen with the motivation to open them to new markets. We are traveling all around Anatolia to connect the artisans preserving the ancient crafts, the talented young artists blending traditional and contemporary, and works of women NGO's.

Istanbul has so much to offer. Time management for vacation can be daunting. Visiting the…read moreKapalicarsi Grand Bazaar is a must if you can. You could dedicate an entire day there soaking up culture and shopping. The Cashmere House is infamous for its quality. We are average tourist but were met with high class customer service. This is Istanbul!! Stop in.....thank me later

We found Cashmere House from various blogs but assumed it was a tourist trap. If it's written about…read moreor if Uma Thurman and Ron Perlman have visited, the prices must be sky high right? Not so. With the hundreds of pushy/disinterested/questionable vendors touting questionable "cashmere" and/or "pashmina," this was a breath of fresh air. Our day at the Grand Bazaar started with this shop and ended with it. Our initial visit, we briefly looked around and left to check out other stores. On our return to the store at the end of the day, Yusuf (who owns the store with his brother) welcomed us back and actually left the store to give us space to look around. While we were looking, he didn't bombard us with information as most vendors tend to do. Yusuf wasn't pushy at all and frankly, he doesn't need to be as the quality of their products really speak for themselves. We chatted for quite a bit and at the end of our visit, purchased a few very beautiful cashmere/silk wraps. A wonderful experience in an otherwise frustrating experience at the Grand Bazaar. Highly recommend to those looking for high quality shawls/wraps.

We stumbled into this shop because they had a nice cat inside and there was no aggressive bulky…read moreoutside insisting we go in. Two parts, we got a smaller Turkish mosaic lamp that may or may not make it back packed in bubble wrap and clothes, and a little rug for one of our cats, and a pillow case for our cat sitter, and a scarf for a Philosopher friend. In the ceramics part of the shop we got some pretty bowls which also might not survive the ride in luggage but they did wrap them up well and they are embedded in clothes and yarn. The Chief of Staff is in to knitting and bought yarn in Turkiye, which makes for good packing. None of this was expensive and the attempts to upset weren't overbearing.

This shop is absolutely amazing. Everything is handmade by the owner who is extremely kind,…read morehospitable, and skilled in his craft. I loved that he was open about differences in pricing and reasonings, and showed me how to distinguish quality ceramics from cheaper made ones for future reference in future travels. We spent a long time chit-chatting and I learned a lot more about his craft. The resident kitty is also super cute. I will absolutely be visiting again if I get the chance to return to Istanbul. Thank you for such a beautiful experience!