Is This the World’s Oldest Shopping Mall?
Dodging rug vendors in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar
A new August morning arrives, blissfully, with a thin layer of clouds overhead. Perhaps this will put a damper on the day’s temperature. Given time I’m certain that my body would adapt to Istanbul’s climate, but right now I am still perspiring buckets of sweat every time I step out our front door. I will gladly embrace a little shade from a cloud layer.
Today we are off to do a little shopping: a visit to Kapalicarsi (the Grand Bazaar). The Grand Bazaar is a monstrous edifice located about a mile east of our flat. It is one of the largest covered markets in the world, housing more than 6,000 shops. Sixty streets wind beneath the vaulted roofs. It is labyrinthine — unwitting visitors have wandered in and never returned. I would not be surprised if the Minotaur lurked in the Bazaar’s murky depths.
I intend to take a long piece of kite string and unwind it behind me.
We walked up the hill, between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. Crowds packed the sidewalks and overflowed into the cobbled streets. I was amazed by the dress of some of the women. I wore the lightest clothing in my suitcase — shorts and a thin cotton shirt — yet I still oozed sweat like an artesian well. Nevertheless, the women we passed were dressed in head…
