Little Sara and the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul

If you have toured to other part of Turkey, you would notice that every city and county would have their own Kapalicarsi or covered bazaar but only Istanbul's Capalicarsi is called The Grand Bazaar. Like the Supremo, the Grande, the mostest! (More on The Grand Bazaar)

The Grand Bazaar dated back to 1461, meaning that trading has been going on in this stoned walled, covered bazaar for the last 550 years!! It has 22 Doors/Gates which are numbered and labelled accordingly. At the last count, there are 5000 shops (stalls) inside it alone. And if you ventured out of the Gate by mistake, you'll be met with more rows of shops and stalls outside the grand bazaar. your shopping experience would never end, whether you are inside or outside of the grand bazaar. and to be honest with you, i'm yet to familliarize myself with the continous and never-ending alleys in the bazaar and still could not remember how to get from one shop to the next.

Getting lost in the bazaar is a norm...don't fear it, just embrace it! if you got lost, just ask the ever so friendly and helpful shopkeepers to direct you to the tramway or whatever Gate you came from. there have never been an incidence where people got lost or kidnapped here, and I don't think it will happen soon in the near future.So...husbands...keep your cool, your wives are not lost or kidnapped...rather, she's lost in the world of her own and go find your own world while she indulges herself. Don't bother trying to text or call her mobile phone because she'll just pretend not to hear them. Just pray that her new shoes (bought in Istanbul) will bite deeper and she can't take the pain anymore. Relax..after all...you are in Istanbul....the beautiful and magical city that some could only dream of coming.

this was taken at Edirne's Kapalicarsi, 2.5 hr ride from Istanbul. its smaller than the Grand Bazaar but will also be congested with tourists and local people. notice the arch doorway with sign "Cami Girisi"? that will lead you to the magnificient Selimeye Camii (Selimiye Mosque) which is attached to the Bazaar. when the call for prayers (azan) is heard, shopkeepers and shoppers will just go to the the mosque to pray and then return back to business in a short while. business and faith goes hand in hand and should complement each other...these have been thought of 100s of years ago! 

apart from leading to the Selimiye Camii, these steps will also take you to the museum . Selimiye Camii was built by the great Armenian (architect) Mimbar Sinan. He had created over 400 magnificent buildings, bridges, cami and monuments and not one of them are similar. He also built the (other) grand and magnificent Sulaimaniye Camii in Istanbul.  I hope to write more about him in later posting. 

almost as crowded as the Grand Bazaar and just as enticing as the Grand Bazaar....Edirne was the 'gateway' to Europe during the Ottoman era. It was here that Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror left from  to conquer and take control of Constantinople (now Istanbul). Edirne was also the 'headquarters' for the Ottoman soldiers before they set to the Eastern Europe and spread the Ottoman empire up till Vienna. 

Selimiye here refers to Sultan Selim.

noticed how patriotic the Turks are? these photos were taken a few days before the general election but generally Turks are very patriotic (with their flags) and Turkish flags are seen everywhere...even when there is no election. you will see bigger flags when you are in the city, especially Istanbul.

You'll be greeted with the "hello..where are you from... turkmenistan.. russia...kazakhstan...? arigato.. ni hao.. bonjour...apa khabar...$%$&@...!!! And if no response from you....Kurdishtan? of course, all these will vary according to how your appearances are. this will continue as you moved along the shops..all of them will greet you!! and all of them will want to show you something. and most of them will offer you cay (tea). and if you stopped at their shop, they will always want to bring you inside the shop. and normally, once inside their shop, all your guard will be down, you will almost always...end up buying something. it could be the beautiful products, it could be the convincing salesman or it could be both. Thats why they wanted you inside..away from other salesmen pitch and they are able to sweet-talk you into buying whatever it is that caught your eyes in the first place. Never ever buy at the price that they asked for. Try to knock off at least 50% of what they asked for. That way, you'd end up with at least a 40% discount on top of what he asked for...win-win situation.

After a while, you'll notice that their sales pitch are almost similar. That they have their own factory, craftmen, workshop or they did the products themselves. That they have a brother, uncle, nephew, friend who owns a leather, carpet, silk, caviar, jewelry shops (also) in the bazaar and they can take you to them. And because you have bought from him, he'll ask his brother, uncle, friends to give you a special price. Frankly, i'm a bit apprehensive about this as I suspected that he'll be given a commission on any products that you'll be buying arising out of his recommendation. Guess who has to pay for this commission? The special price that you'll be paying, of course! So, maybe it's better to stay clear of any recommendations and explore on your own. After all, there are so many similar shops that you can actually compare the prices and decide. Keep a poker face and don't show any emotion even though you really liked the item. If the price that you asked for is reasonable to him, he'll call you back. Yeah..its a battle of the wits.

But why are they so aggressive? Well....first and foremost, for such a small shop, they have to pay monthly rental of US$10,000. Thats TL16,000 per month. So..that mean, you need to sell at least TL32,000 a month to be comfortable. Or TL1000 per day on average. Unless you are selling jewelry or carpets (which command higher profits), you would be howling "hello,  where are you from..." till you're hoarse, right? On average, between 250,000 to 400,000 people throng the Grand Bazaar daily. Go do the maths!

this cruise ship is sooo huge and its here every week. i was told that it holds 3000 pax. sometimes there'll be two of them berth together...its occupants will almost always head for the Grand Bazaar first...photo taken on a Bosphorous cruise.

the Norwegian cruise liner at its glory (in Istanbul) .....someday..someday....i too will be  inside.... looking out....

this was the day 4 cruise ships landed and OMG...it was soooo crowded in the Bazaar but nobody's complaining, except that the shopkeepers call them 'empty shoppers' as most would just browse and not buy stuffs but for some small trinkets. But it really is mind-boggling looking at all those 'would-be customers'...i wish i had a shop there ha ha..

see the tourist? yeap...they're always with the miss-match outfits but from the shopkeepers perspective, its their wallets that are of interest to them....they know that when you shop with friends or colleagues, the chances of you buying something is higher as compared to when you shop alone. Now..perhaps that's why they left me alone now, i normally shop alone....    

The Equinox was here too.....she is sooo huge...i almost had a heart attack when I first saw her in between the buildings..its as if the Alien has landed !! Its a few high-storey buildings put together !!(photo copied from the website)
http://www.celebritycruises.com/plancruise/ships/ship.do?shipCode=EQ

Having said all that, you'll quickly discover that the trading rely very heavily on relationship. They seek to create a relationship with you for in a long run, its your loyalty that they are after. And because eventually you'll find out that the Turks are in fact friendly, honest and honorable people. Most customers always went back to the same shops and traders because of the these very friendship, honesty and trust. It will shock you to find out that you can rely on their proposal and explanation. Look...these people have been trading for 100s of years...long before we even heard of the word "commerce and marketing". Its in their blood and thats what they do best...so just trust them...and you'll enjoy your stay in Istanbul better. They seldom let you down...they'll go all out to please the customers. Why..they even have special tuvalet (toilet) just for the  customers! and the tuvalet for customers are really the better tuvalet, that goes to show the great length at where they are willing to go to please the customers.

When you are in Istanbul, you'll notice very quickly that the men are doing everything. The men cook and serve in the bufe (cafe) and lokanta (restaurants), the men do the shaving, grooming, cutting and fashioning hair in the kuafor (hair salon), the men will yell the 'hello' in the Grand Bazaar, the men will serve you inside the shops, the men sell simit (sesame bread) in the shop and on the street....literally the men do everything everywhere. And the ladies? Well....you'll see more of them working at the modern shopping centres but most times, you'll see them shopping prettily. I was informed by some local friends that the men also cook at home. Infact, I've been told that they're the better cook in the household. Wow...that is one culture I would love to introduce to my country!

So, I was intrigued when I met with Sara, probably a sole lady who runs a jewelry shop in the Grand Bazaar. Does she has to be 'tough' to compete with all the men? Does she has to be super aggressive in order to sustain her business? The answer is a shocking 'NO'! She's as gentle as any lady could be but as stable as a rock. Its a family business, she said, and that she had been working in the shop ever since she was young but still got lost in the Grand Bazaar till today ha ha. So I'm not so blur after all. Her brother Agus, is a certified Gemologist.

Sara's jewelry shop in Grand Bazaar.....her collections are contemporary, classic and the prices are reasonable...you can tell from the number of repeat customers that went to her shop. they'll normally return to her shop after checking for prices at other shops. Although she accepts credit cards, she herself never owned a credit card in her entire life. She said that her father told her "if you can't afford it, don't just buy it or use credit card to buy it" ...hmm...anybody out there who agree to this? 

Sara said that her brother would always go for Trade exhibition in the Far East but she couldn't follow him. So, the big-mouthed me asked her why not? Ohh..she said that she has a medical situation that restricts her flight journey to under five hours. And still the nosey parker (of me) asked her why? Ohh...she had a very serious accident when she was young and she almost lost her arm if not for her father. And that there is an implant in her arm that make it uncomfortable for her to travel long distance. When she was involved in the accident in Istanbul, the medics wanted to amputate her arm for it was badly damaged and can't be saved. Her father refused to listen or agree with the medics and had her flown over to Switzerland for treatment. After being there for a few weeks, the Swiss doctor also said the same thing and that the arm had to be amputated. Again, the father refused to accept the 'verdict' from the Swiss doctor and had her flown to Germany. The rest..they say... is history. After a few months in Germany, the German doctor fixed it up and Sara got to keep her arm. If you looked at her in the photo, you could not tell the difference,could you? I was with her for few hours and didnt noticed it until she told me about it. I really must salute those German doctors...Germans are still way ahead in technology.

that's the arm that the Turkish and Swiss doctor wanted to amputate until the German doctor 'saved' it...it was a miraculous and wonderful work as you could hardly notice any difference to it.  Doctors are great but at times, it pays to ask and get a second opinion ..... always ! Sara is wearing an 'evil eye' bracelet to ward off any evil thoughts and things. And.....she's getting married in Sept., Congratulation Sara....

sensational and courageous Sara....we became friends as we admire her products...jewelries designed and produced by her own company. The pieces are mostly designed by her brother who can turn an "I'm allergic to diamond!" man into a fan in a few minutes..ha ha

So...why am I telling this story here? Well....for one, I'm fascinated by Sara's father's determination and courage to say 'No' when it matters and for having faith when everybody else has given up hope. He could have stopped at the Swiss doctor but he soldiered on. How many of us would have stopped at the Turkish doctor? Yeah..I think I might, too. Shame on us. Most times, we tend to give up and give in too easily. Its difficult to think and act 'out of the box'. If life gives us lemon, make lemonade out of it!!!

Actually, there is a relevance to this story.What I am trying to show here is Turkish determination and perseverance. If you read the history, Turkey was always at war previously and life was hard for most people. So..these hardship made them more hardy and tolerable towards life. They are also innovative and seldom take 'No' as an answer. For them, everything has a solution. I remember reading a blog where someone complained that the Turks "always say 'yes' to everything" in a negative manner. She didn't understand that the Turks say "Yes' because they will solve the problem or issues in whatever manner is possible. They will persevere until a solution is found. Remember, I said that they're like the Chinese? So...are you inspired and impressed already? Don't worry..it took me months to figure it out, too !!

Next Week : What to look out for (scams and tricks) when in Istanbul and few pointers to make your stay in Istanbul a pleasant experience.