One of the things I didn't do in Istanbul....

02.07.2015

Istanbul is a shopper's paradise, and because I was all Mosqued out I thought I might check out some major shopping destinations in Istanbul. I had already walked down Istiklal Avenue from Taksim square. This is an elegant pedestrian street ( the Champs Elysee of Istanbul ) ,one and a half kilometers long, lined with upmarket shops, and with many sidestreets full of downmarket shops. On the weekends they estimate that 3 million people a day visit there. I confess that I did shop there. I bought batteries and a new SD card for my camera, and did lunch too. So the first stop on my Friday unshopping spree was only one station away on the metro from where I am staying and is one of a dozen real honest to goodness shopping malls in Istanbul. It surprised me to read that the Cevahir Centre was, from when it was built in 2005 until 2011, Europe's largest shopping mall. Ok it has 350 shops, and 50 restaurants on 6 levels. It also has 12 cinemas, a bowling alley and several other entertainment stages and theatres. Oh and it conveniently has it's own metro station. Funny thing was it just didn't feel that big, that is until you ventured away from the main concourse and into the side streets. Then it got big enough to get lost in. It was interesting to note that before anyone could enter the building you and your bag had to be scanned at a security checkpoint, and on every level of the mall were many security guards walking around. It is the middle-east, after all. I started at the top and worked my way down, checking out areas of interest. I went into a few menswear stores looking for cheap t shirts, but couldn't find any that looked any different from the one's you can buy in NZ. They all had California, or Route 66, or Las Vegas, or New York plastered on the front. They do know who their target market is though. There were two levels dedicated to women's clothing and accessories. One level of about 80 shops was exclusively made up of shops selling handbags and shoes, and most of them had between 30 and 70 percent discounted prices. Another level had about 50 shops selling only children's clothing and accessories. There were only a few people wandering around when I arrived just after 10 am, but it was starting to get a bit busier as I was leaving around midday. Oh, and I didn't even spend a single Turkish Lira there on my unshopping spree. Walking around is hard work so I stopped off to grab some lunch at my favourite locantasi (worker's cafeteria). That done I jumped back on the metro to go to the nearest station to the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. You would think that a place made up of over 3000 shops on 60 covered in streets would be hard to lose, but of course I walked out of the metro and turned right instead of left. So an hour later I turned up at one of the 21 entrances to the bazaar, after being given three different sets of directions. They were In Turkish though, so I might have lost something in translating their waving arms into English. I took a single photo and was accosted by a dozen young men all wanting to be my best friend, or sell me a selfie-stick, or show me the best shops to buy anything in the bazaar, or take me for a cup of tea and a friendly talk to their uncle's rug shop. "Hells bells" I thought, I haven't even got into the place and it has already started. So I said "No, NO, NNOO" to them and walked on past the stores on the edges of the bazaar. Of course, that didn't stop them at all. One or two of them kept up with me saying things like "Where are you from, are you an Aussi or a Kiwi?" "I lived in Auckland with my uncle in 2009. and Kiwis are the friendliest people in the world" "How are you liking being in Istanbul", "We have a tradition of inviting people to come and sit with us and drink tea, so that we can meet new friends from around the world, We would be honoured if you would join us" "Go away", "Leave me alone" " ***** off", nothing worked to deter them, they wouldn't be ignored and as I walked on they were joined by others. I thought to myself this is going to be a nightmare, I have already passed ten stalls filled with cheap tee shirts, and if I had stopped and looked at any one of them the stall owner would have pounced on me and not let me go until I bought one. If I continue with my plans to venture any further into the bazaar, this is going to happen a dozen times in the first street, not to mention the very real possibility of getting lost amongst 3000 shops on 60 streets with 21 different exits The only sensible thing to do, in the circumstances, was to walk back to the metro and call it a day. My legs were aching anyway, so saying goodbye to all my new friends that is what I did. I didn't even get a chance to open my coin purse. That was one of my more successful days in Istanbul. My day spent unshopping.....

The Cevahir Shopping Complex