TURKEY - ISTANBUL - SPICE BAZAAR

Istanbul's Egyptian Bazaar (or Spice Market built 1664) is filled with the fragrance of the exotic East. Spices, dried fruits, nuts and seeds, lokum (Turkish Delight) and other edibles fill most of the shops, though jewelry and other high-margin goods have begun to move in. It's no wonder: this is prime retail space, right at the southern end of the Galata Bridge on the Golden Horn, right next to the New Mosque (Yeni Cami).

Hasircilar Caddesi, the narrow bazaar street running west from the market building, is particularly colorful, with lots more shops selling spices, snacks and house wares.

A few blocks westward along Hasircilar is the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, one of Istanbul's finest small architectural gems.

The Spice Bazaar, in Istanbul, Turkey is one of the oldest bazaars in the city. It is the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.

The name of the bazaar was due to the fact that many spices were imported via Egypt in the Ottoman period. The name was favored by the public. Misir has a double meaning in Turkish: "Egypt" and "maize." Sometimes the name is wrongly translated as "Corn Bazaar". The bazaar is the center for spice trade in Istanbul.

The building itself is part of the külliye of Yeni Mosque, and rents from the shops within was intended to help pay for the upkeep of the mosque. The structure was completed in 1660.

The Spice Bazaar is an “L”-shaped building, consisting of 88 vaulted rooms, almost all of which are now divided into an upper and lower story. Monumental gateways are at the ends of both halls, with chambers above each entranceway.

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