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The Spice Bazaar, (Turkish: 'Mısır Çarşısı', or Egyptian Bazaar) in Istanbul, Turkey is one of the largest bazaars in the city. Located in Fatih, in the neighborhood of Eminönü, it is the second largest covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.
No picture can really convey the noise, heat, smells, and crowds of the old bazaar streets. Chor Bazaar, Mumbai, India (2013).
Chilli dogs are totally not an Asian thing but we have modified it and made it our own and this is seen alot at the bazaar. Have yet to try them though. Next round maybe :o)
The Grand Bazaar (Turkish: Kapalıçarşı, meaning "Covered Bazaar"; also: Turkish: Büyük Çarşı, meaning "Grand Bazaar") in Istanbul is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.
The construction of the future Grand Bazaar's core started during the winter of 1455/56, shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. Sultan Mehmet II had an edifice erected devoted to the trading of textiles.
Today the Grand Bazaar is a thriving complex, employing 26,000 people visited by between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily, and one of the major landmarks of Istanbul. It must fight the competition of the giant malls built everywhere in Istanbul, but its beauty and fascination represent a formidable advantage for it. According to the head of the Grand Bazaar Artisans Association, the complex has been in 2011 - the year of its 550th birthday - the most visited monument in the world. A restoration project starting in 2012 should renew its infrastructure, heating and lighting systems. Moreover, the Hans inside the Market will be renovated and later additions will be demolished.[40] This project should finally solve the big problems of the market: for example, in the whole Bazaar there is no proper toilet facility.[Moreover, the lacks of controls in the past years allowed many dealers to remove columns and skive walls in their shops to gain space: This, together with the substitution of lead (stolen in the last years) with concrete on the market's roof, has created a great hazard when the earthquake expected in Istanbul in the next years will occur.
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The best time to organise a food walk one is the month of Ramzaan. This is the time when every dilliwala makes a trip to Jama Masjid to savour the flavors of iftar. A good starting point to this trail is the Chawri Bazaar metro station. Step out of gate no. 3 and a lane from the Hauz Qazi roundabout leads to Sitaram Bazaar which houses the shop in Kucha Pati Ram.There are 3-4 kulfi shops in this kucha, but Mahavir Prasad Kuremal is the best of the lot. We started out food walk with a range of kulfis: plain matka kulfi, rose, jamun with a sprinkling of rock salt, paan kulfi, khatta meetha, litchi, stuffed apple and stuffed mango, plain mango, chikoo, aam panna kulfi to name a few!!!! Kucha Pati Ram also has some interesting haveli facades. Before making the next food stop we visited a small local mosque nearby. This is the Ruknuddaulah masjid, built in the 18th century. Its caretaker is a gentle named Nuruddin who is a resident of Churiwalan & a darner by profession. An extremely warm person, he ensures that visitors to the mosque are always welcome. The mosque is an exquisite example of carved stone work which is in a good shape. Take a look at the pictures to get an idea of the craftsmanship on stone.
The next stop on our walk was Hira Lal chaat corner in Chawri Bazaar. And their specialty is the kulle or kuliya ki chaat. These are pieces of vegetables or fruits filled with gram, peas, pomegranate, boiled potato & topped with spices & lemon. And consider the variety of items that can be stuffed: tomato, potato, apple, oranges, sweet potato, mango, cucumber, bananas!!!! So popular is this item here that he ran out of provisions by the time we reached his shop. Still, he managed to serve us a sample of the famous mango kulle. We satisfied ourselves with a round of crispy aaloo chaat.
A few steps ahead is a complex called Raghuganj, a part of Chawri Bazaar. Ask for the Jain Coffee House here. This stall is practically hidden away behind a grain market. The ‘secret passage’ leading to their shop is not more than 2 feet wide!!! And their specialty is fruit sandwiches: mango, pineapple, chikoo, grapes, apple. These guys even slice the grapes, so fine that each slice is transparent! Not to be missed is the range of shakes, coffee & tea to go along with the sandwich. And lest you think that you are not up for a sweet tasting sandwich, they also have a vegetable & samosa sandwich served with a dash of green chutney!
By this time most are full up to their necks. We take a short break by visiting the Jama Masjid. The best time to go there would be towards the evening when everyone is preparing to break the fast. You might even get invited to share the iftaar with some families in the courtyard of Jama Masjid. An excellent way to digest all that you have eaten so far would be climbing the minaret here. The southern minaret in the Jama Masjid is open for climbing and even though the stairs are narrow, step and one too many, the view from the top is worth it! You get a bird’s eye view of the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort nearby, & on a clear day, even as far as the river Yamuna. Not to mention the help in digesting all the chaat & kulfis.
Walking out of the Jama Masjid, enter the Matia Mahal area. On both sides of the street you will be greeted by stall of food, each more exotic than the other. Vermicelli piled up in heaps, dates, shahi tukda, ice cream, kababs, meat balls, lassi, sweets, dates, fruits…everything is here. It is a wonderland for gluttons! You could try Haji Mohd Hussain’s shop, famous for its fried chicken & fried fish. Sample some beef based ‘keema golis’ – an iftaar special. These are spicy keema balls best combined with onion and green chutney. Kallan Sweets, another famous shop here, has a range of sweets: meetha samosa filled with khoya, coconut and dipped in sweet chashni, paneer jalebis, phirni. We ended our food walk here with lassi, meetha samosa & sumptuous paneer jalebis!!