Grand Bazaar

From swathes of silk to intricately designed carpets, from filigreed Turkish tea pots to ornate Ottoman lamps, the lantern-laced alleys of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar are home to the city's finest treasures. Vaulted archways are covered with wall-to-wall wares of traditional Turkish souvenirs and products in this historic retail paradise. A walk through the medieval alleys brings on as much awe and delight as it does a smidgen of entertainment. The bedesten, or warehouses date back to the thriving times of the 15th Century, when the Grand Bazaar was first proposed to be built by Sultan Mehmet, in a bid to encourage economic progress in the then-city of Constantinople. Today, the bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, its meandering alleys filled with as many as 4000 shops, and its grand sprawl consisting of nearly 61 shopping streets and alleys.