It is important trade centers throughout history, Istanbul's bazaars have dazzled everybody by their richness, variety and liveliness from the Byzantine period until today. During the Byzantine period various goods coming from both the East and the West were offloaded and loaded from the docks situated on both sides of the Golden Horn, the bustling bazaars were all concentrated in this area. One of the most important
trade centers of the city was Uzuncarsi, which encompassed the Grand Bazaar as well- The quantity and the variety of the goods sold there astonished even the rich western nobility. The maze-like Grand Bazaar is essentially a small city located in the middle of commercial activities. Spice Bazaar is just as lively, but easier to wander about. Built in the bazaar area: the Rustem Pasha Mosque is especially renown for its
marvellous tile works.
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the old days, the bazaar resembled a merchant city where one could find a cornucopia of goods, suitable for all budgets and tastes ranging from clothes to households, jewelry, furniture, spices etc.
These days, its commercial activities are concentrated on the gold
trade, antiques, foreign currency exchange and stocks and bonds.
In the first years of its construction every street was assigned to a certain type of product, whereas this situation changed following the proclamation of the Constitutional Government, The bazaar has many entrances; the most frequently used ones are the Beyazit light metro stop and the one from the Nuru-osmaniye Mosque.Situated over 30,7 hectares of land and comprised of 61 streets, the bazaar has been around for more than 400 years, overcoming several fires and earthquakes and many facelifts as well.
The shops began to lose their original appearance in the 1960's and 70's as illuminated shop signs with foreign names filled up everywhere. Thus, not much remains of the historical identity and atmosphere of the unique bazaar.
Originally it was illuminated by daylight. That was the result of the moral world of the Turkish society. People used to get up early, the commerce and handicrafts used to be performed during the day, and especially during the winter months people used to go home before the evening prayer. This is why the bazaar merchants did not need more than the light coming from the ceiling.
The bazaar started to gain today's shopping customs during the second half of the 19th century; that is to say "the bargaining habit" and the method of pulling customers in from the street. However bargaining was a shame for Moslem merchants and forcing the customers and not letting them wander about freely was in stark contrast with the contentment of the oriental world.
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