What Is Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar Really Like? Inside One of the World’s Famous Markets

Alan Hopper TV and today we are going to do a tour, walking tour from the Egyptian Bazaar to the Grand Bazaar. So we just left out of the Egyptian Bazaar and we are now headed in the direction of the Grand Bazaar here in Istanbul. So we'll head up this hill here. We'll see what's in between, what the vibes are like, how the energy is. As you can see it's very busy. I was gonna say electric but not the word. It's busy, full of life. If you guys enjoy videos like this you can hit the like button and consider subscribing as we continue to walk towards the Grand Bazaar here in Istanbul. You're also gonna want to watch our full travel guide for Istanbul because we went all around to Istiklal, Sultanahmet. Also you can watch our video things to know when visiting Istanbul. So you can see we're just gonna keep going up this hill. It's like there's the Grand Bazaar and there's like 3,500 shops in there and then there's the Egyptian Bazaar which is big in its own right but then there's everything in between which is what you're looking at here. Look at all that clothing and backpacks, shoes, belts. I would say the distance is about a half a mile in between the Egyptian Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar. You're gonna get more spices and caviar and delicate foods in the Egyptian Bazaar. In the Grand Bazaar you're gonna get more rugs and antiques and stuff like that and it looks like in between here lots of clothes. This area that we're here is the primary area known as Sultanahmet. I've now been in Istanbul for was it four days now? Yeah, about four days. When I first arrived here I really didn't know what to expect and Istanbul is really amazing. I was on one of the tours and they had quoted Napoleon Bonaparte. He said if the world was won Istanbul would be its capital. Now look at that. Clothes galore. Those are some pretty good quality Turkish clothes too and as you know when you come to Istanbul definitely start negotiating and the saying is everyone happy. So you want to negotiate to where you're happy and they're happy with the price. That's how you do it. So negotiation is part of the deal. It's part of the process. If you want to accept the first price that's up to you. You can. I'm just gonna kind of let you guys take it all in and the natural sounds now. I'll pick up talking once I get up to the Grand Bazaar. Hello. Hi. We are walking up a hill. So they built the Grand Bazaar up on like a mountain hill and they've filled it in over the years and we're talking about one of the oldest cities on earth. A huge trading city on the Bosphorus Strait. Bosphorus is basically a narrow body of water that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean essentially. Unlike Athens, Istanbul is very lush. There's lots of green trees around here whereas Athens is very dry and arid. Hello. Hi. Oh they got boxers. 70 lira. So you get three boxers, men's boxers like Calvin Klein for 70 lira which comes out to around four bucks. You get some good deals. 100 lira is around five dollars okay. That gives you a general idea. Might have to do a little shopping for clothes. This has been a while. Here you just really have to let things kind of roll off your shoulder if you get your toes stepped on or bumped into. You just kind of keep on going. Don't make a big deal about it. Because it's so crowded you have no choice really. Let me get some boxers. Thank you, sir. Okay, bye-bye. So I got those boxers there for about five dollars, three pairs. I think that's a good deal. Ever since I lost my luggage in Stockholm, Sweden. Still haven't recovered it. Basically been buying clothes from markets like this across Europe. I would love to shop here in the wintertime. Hi. Okay. Oh, sorry. All right, now we've made it to the Grand Bazaar here. Going in. If you guys want to see more video from the Egypt Bazaar, Egyptian Bazaar, you can watch our other videos where we highlighted that more. But this one's kind of like a walk up the hill to the Grand Bazaar. So 3,500 stores. Like 60 different roads that are covered. You can see the roof. Let's go this way. It's actually kind of nice to go into the bazaar because it is covered. The sun is bright. Especially in August. This is August 2022. Actually they're getting ready to close here. Go this way. Huge old Grand Bazaar, man. Huge. I got those pots. Fine Turkish pottery. Turkish rugs are big here. Even my mom knows about that. Turkish rugs. But look at that.