Spice Bazaar

The Spice Bazaar, or Mısır Çarşısı, is the covered spice and sweet market of the New Mosque complex in Eminönü, in Istanbul's Fatih district. It stands between the New Mosque and the Golden Horn, a few steps from the Galata Bridge and the Eminönü ferry piers, and suits anyone who wants to shop for spices, tea and Turkish delight or simply see one of the city's oldest working markets.

Why it is called the Egyptian Bazaar

The Turkish name means Egyptian Bazaar, because the building was paid for with revenues from the Ottoman province of Egypt, and rents from its shops went to support the New Mosque. Construction began in late 1660, after the Great Fire of Istanbul had burned for about two days and cleared much of the neighbourhood. Sultana Turhan Hatice, mother of Sultan Mehmed IV, commissioned the mosque complex, and the court architect Koca Kasım Ağa designed the market, with the work started under Mustafa Ağa. The word mısır also means maize in Turkish, so the name is sometimes mistranslated as the Corn Bazaar.

About 85 shops of spices, sweets and pastırma

About 85 shops line the vaulted halls, which are entered through gateways at their ends. Their counters are stacked with spices, herbs, teas, Turkish delight and other sweets, dried fruits and nuts, cheeses, cured meats such as pastırma, olive oil soaps, jewellery and souvenirs. Shops selling other goods have gradually taken over some of the old spice stalls, but the pyramids of coloured powders are still what draws the crowds. Many traders hand out tastings, and buying vacuum-packed spices is the practical choice if you are flying home.

Pandeli restaurant and the Rüstem Pasha Mosque outside

The lanes outside are as busy as the halls. Food shops and stalls sell coffee, cheese, olives and pickles, and the historic Pandeli restaurant, open since 1901, has its tiled dining rooms above the gateway facing the New Mosque. The Rüstem Pasha Mosque, lined with Iznik tiles, is about five minutes away on foot through the Tahtakale market streets. Sirkeci railway station is close by, and ferries across the Bosphorus leave from the Eminönü piers in front of the bazaar.