Smart spending in Istanbul / notes of Lale about shopping:

Istanbul is one of those cities where you find certain items being sold in certain sections of the city:
A street of tens of shops selling wedding costumes...
A huge market of hardware...
A street of crystal chandeliers...
An entire neighbourhood selling electronics...
another one selling cameras...
Gold in Grand Bazaar... Turkish Delight in Spice Market...
A street of butchers... A market of bicycles...
and the list goes & on & on.

Knowing that you will find 100 shops selling similar things is a great advantage to consumer. It also is good for business since instead of going to a shopping mall and expecting to find only one shop for a specific item, people still at least prefer to check market areas first, specialized in selling certain products.

Yet, having limited time in this gorgeous city, we suggest our guests to spend their shopping time in 3 different sections of the city.
Links below give you an idea about these locations:

1. - 4 Grand Bazaar
2. - 4 Spice Market
3. - 4 Taksim area

And, yes, walking down the streets of Istanbul, there is always something grabbing your attention even if you are not a big shopper. This is mainly because -remember... this is the gateway from East to West, the city offers a great synthesis of diverse products.

Contributions to Turkish economy is not a must, of course... still, the city has this unique way of tickling the eyes and pockets of our visitors !