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Shopping
Istanbul is a shopper's paradise catering to
all kinds of customers. From covered bazaars and
workshops continuing ancient traditions, to shopping
plazas and deportment stores, Istanbul offers
a wide variety of shopping opportunities. A visit
to the Grand Bazaar is an experience rich in original
Turkish carpets and gold and silver works. In
the Egyptian Market, behind the large mosque at
Eminönü square, you can find an exotic
and mysterious atmosphere, infused with the smell
of aromatic spices and herbs. In the row of shops
around Sultanahmet Mosque, you can buy traditional
Turkish handicrafts, while the shops in the museums
offer souvenirs with which to remember your encounter
with Turkey's history.
Daily Life
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In a city encompassing 3500 square kilometers,
and with a population of 12 million, life is obviously
constantly animated and hectic. With millions
of people immigrating from all corners of Anatolia
over the past 30 years, Istanbul has become a
microcosm of Turkey. All of the various traditions,
cultures, cuisines and folklore of Anatolia can
be found here. The streets are always crowded,
and the buses, trains and boats shuttling between
the two shores of the Bosphorus ant the Sea of
Marmara are constantly full to capacity. Nevertheless,
the residents of Istanbul love their city, a city
which has so much to offer. As soon as spring
arrives, the sidewalk cafes, open air restaurants
and fish places along the sea come to life. An
unforgettable experience is contemplating the
sun setting majestically in an explosion of color
against the background of the Istanbul skyline
and the silhouettes of monumental masques. Istanbul
has a very active night life. The bars, pubs,
night clubs and discotheques are plentiful and
there are countless restaurants offering Turkish
cuisine with all its local varieties, not to mention
Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese and Lebanese
restaurants. But the specialty are the "meyhanes",
literally meaning wine houses, where the main
drink served is not so much the wine, but the
"raki", an alcoholic beverage made of
grapes and anise. The tradition of the "meyhanes"
goes back to Byzantium, and they still flourish
today. One of the greatest pleasures of Istanbul
is to go to these places, to drink, to eat the
various hors d'oeuvres and to listen to the strolling
musicians. Istanbul is a fascinating, mysterious,
captivating, sometimes exasperating but always
stimulating city.
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