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Istanbul shopping
Say what you like about the consumerist West, a couple of days in Istanbul will illustrate the undeniable fact that Turks just love to shop. Continuing in the vein of their trader ancestors who set up the bazaars and souks in the days of the Silk Road, Istanbullus today still love a good buy; the exponential rise in state-of-the-art malls like Akmerkez, Cevahir, and the much-hyped Kanyon is hard proof of that fact. But whether you're haggling over a kilim in the Grand Bazaar or handing over your AmEx in Harvey Nichols, be warned that, barring a few exceptions, Istanbul is by no means a bargain basement. Imported goods face hefty taxation, and if you want top quality in carpets, jewelry, or ceramics, you'll still pay top price.
One of a handful of English-language bookshops on, or just off, İstiklal Caddesi, Robinson Crusoe stocks a decent selection of everything from fiction and...more
One of Istanbul's most successful design chains, Mudo started life in the 1960s as a small gift shop selling records and hand-painted T-shirts. The hippie days...more
Depending on your shopping style, Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is either an abundant paradise or a convoluted, serpentine nightmare of sensory overload. Either way,...more
The "Grand Bazaar Lite," this is the place to come if size and commotion of the Kapalı Çarşı has given you a headache. Smaller, more...more
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