Monday 19 January 2009

Istanbul: The markets

This was not the bazaar but a large market place known as the spice market, although it sprawls much further afield than the initial covered area. Everywhere you look you see these little ally ways that open up into court yards, invariably very run down. This is a city of shops that specialise, department stores are an anathema here, instead wonderful stores with just one focus
String?

Coffee, the smell as I walked past was divine, there was a long queue. In the shop a young boy weighed the coffee, another wrapped the coffee up into little bundles with brown paper and sellotape, another stacked the coffee, another sold the coffee, another took the money for the coffee and finally someone watched the till!. I would like to wax lyrical about Turkish coffee but, no, it is vile stuff, more a soup than a drink, you have to drink it with a glass of water, what's the point? but the smell is something else.


All across Istanbul you will see people bent double carrying huge great bundles, often from store house to shop, in this case the shop is on his back. The Turks are nothing if not entrepreneurial, they will set up a stall to sell anything from lottery tickets to umbrellas, beware the dodgy men exchanging Euros, it will end in tears.




3 comments:

La Belette Rouge said...

These fantastic photos remind me of my time in Morocco markets. I loved the scents, the sights, and the sounds. It is such a nice change from the hyper-clean and charm free hyper-marts. In Morocco I drank at least 10 cups of Moroccan tea each day. Love the stuff!!!

materfamilias said...

Wonderfully evocative photos -- I love the black and white -- they are already so full without colour.

indigo16 said...

I would LOVE to go to Morocco, it is at the top of my list. I think it would feel more middle eastern than Turkey. Apple tea was all I could drink, but it was nice.
Thank you both for looking brace yourself for a few more!