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Istanbul Spice Market and Grand Bazaar for older ladies

Hello RS fans!

My mother (88), her friend(88), and her friend's daughter(65) and myself (55) will be traveling to Istanbul in the fall. Both older ladies are in fairly good health but will use a cane and will need to sit and rest at times. We mostly have 3 hour tours set up for the major sites with private guides- so the ladies can sit down when needed. We would like to go to the Spice Market and Grand Bazaar, but I don't quite know how to plan it. I think we would like to be accompanied to these attractions by a guide who speaks Turkish and can guide us through—being flexible for sitting down to a tea or rest, maybe even lunch, and without expectations of specific purchases or any kind of hard sell. I have been to Istanbul before and I remember the merchants being quite aggressive. There is a tour guide I found through "Tours by locals" but some of the comments are that she brings people to certain merchants with a high-sell attitude. Does anyone have any experience being an older person at these sites? Any recommendations on how to find such a guide?

Thank you so much in advance!!

Posted by
4871 posts

Maybe there are times of the day and/or days of the week when the market is less busy?

Posted by
5680 posts

The Spice Market is incredibly busy and I don't recall seeing anywhere to sit. Personally I found it a bit meh, full of the same stores selling the same overpriced Turkish delight or spices.

I enjoyed the Grand Bazaar a bit more but mainly from a historic sense. There's not much worth buying there unless you're interested in fake designer goods of which many are quite good copies. Every person I spoke to in the bazaar spoke good English, I even spoke to a couple with Cockney accents so likely London born and bred. I never encountered any aggressive haggling or selling, persistent and optimistic...yes but all good natured. I see no reason to hire a guide as I don't see what they could offer that you can't easily do on your own. In terms of seating the only places where you can sit for a brief respite are the various cafes dotted around so you would have to purchase something if you wanted a set.

Posted by
3184 posts

As you've been to Istanbul you may remember that both the spice market and bazaar get very crowded and as others have noted there aren't many sit down options other than paying for food or beverage. All over Turkey, especially in designated markets like those two, everything is a high sell attitude because that is after all their line of work. Even with a professional guide, you're going to get sales pitches. If you think this will be off-putting to your mom and her friend, I'd pick other activities.

There have been many questions about private guides in Istanbul, perhaps some of these posts will have a recommendation that suits your situation: https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=1y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=istanbul+guide

Posted by
29007 posts

I can't help with a guide, but I want to warn you that the Grand Bazaar had a great deal of second-hand smoke the afternoon I stopped in. I didn't see stall-holders smoking (it's supposed to be a non-smoking area), but many customers were smoking. The Bazaar doesn't have a lot of entry points, so the smoke seems to build up. I'd encourage a morning visit. I think the air might be more breathable then.

Posted by
9274 posts

I've been to the Spice Market when it was just opening (9am?) in the morning and it was practically empty of tourists. There is a lot of seating outside the market toward the water. You might want to plan to go early, buy a few items, and just sit outside and enjoy the people watching for a bit.

Posted by
5680 posts

I can't help with a guide, but I want to warn you that the Grand Bazaar had a great deal of second-hand smoke the afternoon I stopped in.

Ah yes, that was a big issue for me. At one point I had to leave the bazaar as I was starting to feel sick and it was impossible to escape the smoke. It seemed everyone was smoking including a number of stall holders, the no smoking rule was clearly being widely ignored.

Posted by
200 posts

There is no place to sit down in the Spice Market or the Covered Bazaar. There are places to sit and get a bite to eat just outside both. I highly recommend this tour guide: Metin Koca. He has hundreds of excellent reviews on TripAdvisor. He is one of Rick Steves’ excellent independent tour guides listed in the new RS Istanbul Guide Book… less than 5 tour guides are on that list! Metin’s email is: [email protected]

Posted by
7036 posts

Ah yes, that was a big issue for me. ... it was impossible to escape the smoke. It seemed everyone was smoking including a number of stall holders, the no smoking rule was clearly being widely ignored.

I had a similar experience. Didn't feel sick, but it was quite annoying and eventually it was what drove me outta there. I'd love to see them address this some day - I guess one can hope, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it...

I found both the spice market and grand bazaar very interesting (enough to put up with the smoke way longer than I would ordinarily). No smoke in the spice market. The spice market is a photographer's dream, with colors and textures and "exotica" way over the top. I also came home with a brick of Garam masala I bought there which has proved pretty good.