It was our last morning in Turkey, and I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Spice Bazaar. What ended our trip on a high note though, was the best baklava I've had, and probably ever will!
Itinerary of the day: Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) → Karaköy Güllüoğlu → Ataturk Airport → home
The Spice Bazaar is also called the Egyptian Bazaar, as it was built in 1660 with the revenue from Egypt when Egypt was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It is just as well-known as the Grand Bazaar, but much smaller, and walking from one end to another in a browsing speed takes about 30 minutes to an hour.
It seemed to be going under some sort of renovation when we visited, so the entrance was kind of hidden under scaffolds...just what in Istanbul was not under construction?
The Spice Bazaar, as the name suggest, used to be the centre of spice trades in Istanbul. Now more stores of other types replaced the spice shops.
The bazaar shops seemed to be a mixture of touristy and local ones. Some shopkeepers continued to try to talk to tourists walking by, and even went to the length of learning some really complicated sentences in foreign languages. One of the store owner knew how to say "I love you till the end of time" in very accurate Mandarin.
Some stores on the other hand, seemed like they're too busy catering to locals and nobody looked us twice, such as this honey/meat shop. Honey in Turkey was so amazing that I simply must buy some here, especially the honeycomb type!
This bazaar was a feast to the senses. We visited in the morning and found the crowd to be ok, and the shopkeepers weren't too aggressive.
Another point of interest of Istanbul that we had cross multiple times on a tram, but never by foot, was the famous Galata Bridge. We decided to walk back to our hotel from the Spice Bazaar so we could take a good look.
Just like in the photos, there were many men fishing (yes this is yet another pasttime that women do not partake) over the bridge.
What I didn't know was the bridge was very smelly. There were a lot of garbage and dead fish parts scattered on the railings and ground. Characteristic in its own way, but not quite the picturesque bridge I envisioned it to be.
A roadside vendor selling bait and fishing accessories.
Maybe the Galata Bridge wasn't as glamourous as I thought, but the views were quite nice. On the bridge we could see the New Mosque and Eminönü on one side, and Galata Tower on the other.
As we crossed Eminönü to Karaköy on the other side, the best baklava in Istanbul and very possibly the whole of Turkey was waiting for us. I researched extensively before the trip, and while tourist favourite remained to be the famous Hafiz Mustafa, most Istanbul residents recommend Karaköy Güllüoğlu. Established in 1820, this store is very proud that they do not have a branch, as shown on their banner.
On the left of the store was the dine-in area, and take out on the right hand side.
The price/kg of each type of sweets were indicated on the glass. A small box of baklava (around 16 pieces) would come ~22TL, which was very reasonable. The server wasn't overly excited to see us, but he was sufficiently friendly and did the job, fast.
The special thing about their baklava was a hint of goat cheese, which made me think they used goat butter in their recipe. It wasn't too overly oily or overly sweet, and they were generous with the pistachio.
What was even better was that they vacuum seal the take-out boxes, which made it easy to transport and keep the baklava fresh. I was able to bring back two boxes back home without a problem, and everyone who tried these baklavas loved them!
It was time to leave Turkey, and we returned to the chaotic Ataturk Airport. There had always been talks about terrorists traveling to Syria en route Turkey, so the security checks NEVER STOPPED. Luggage check when entering the airport, passport check while waiting to check-in, and another carry-on check before entering the gates area, and another one just before boarding!
The security check at the boarding gate was causing a line to form in an airport already too small for its traffic volume. I didn't get asked a lot of questions, but anyone who was transferring in Istanbul, or going to Canada but not Canadian, got a good lengthy questioning session. Definitely allot more time at the airport when traveling in Turkey!
On the flight back, I've received a different toiletry bag (box?), along with the tulip shaped meal menu.
I know some airlines would serve any food for flights less than six hours, but on Turkish airlines everyone would be well-fed. The food on my departure flight was just as amazing as my arriving one.
Was Turkey my favourite trip ever? Not really, as I would probably rank it somewhere in the middle. There was too much stress dealing with scammers and dishonesty in general. With the streets filled with mostly men, as a women I was on constant high alert, and sometimes I feel tired doing that. In my previous trips, I always make the comment about how friendly the people were, but I couldn't say the same for Turkey because of the constant hassle, staring and overcharging. By no means do I think this is the "real" Turkey, but it was more challenging, compared to some other countries, to fully appreciate that.
Twenty years ago, Turkey had 1 million foreign visitors a year, and that number became 40 million by 2013. I couldn't help but think the abundance of tourists led to the deterioration of the tourism industry. I believed behind all that would be the true hospitality of the locals, which I had a small glimpse of once in a while during the trip, if I was lucky enough to break away from the tourist trail. If I could visit Turkey 15 years ago like some of my friends, then maybe I would have fallen in love with the country like they did.
The sceneries and historical legacies were unique and couldn't be found anywhere else in the world. Not to mention the cuisine was definitely the highlight. I was happy to have seen what I've seen, and to take Turkey off my bucket list.
