The Spice Bazaar (, meaning "Egyptian Bazaar") in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, is one of the largest

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

s in the city. Located in the

Eminönü Eminönü, historically known as Pérama, is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is l ...

quarter of the

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district, it is the most famous covered shopping complex after the Grand Bazaar.

History

There are several documents suggesting that the name of the bazaar was first "New Bazaar". Then it got its name "Egyptian Bazaar" () because it was built with the revenues from the Ottoman

eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1660. John Freely:
The Companion Guide to Istanbul
(2000) The word ''mısır'' has a double meaning in Turkish: "

" and "

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

". This is why sometimes the name is wrongly translated as "Corn Bazaar". The bazaar was (and still is) the center for

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

trade in Istanbul, but in recent years shops of other types are gradually replacing the sellers of spices. The building itself is part of the ''

külliye A külliye () is a complex of buildings associated with Turkish architecture centered on a mosque and managed within a single institution, often based on a waqf (charitable foundation) and composed of a madrasa, a Dar al-Shifa (clinic), kitchens ...

'' (complex) of the New Mosque. The revenues obtained from the rented shops inside the bazaar building were used for the upkeeping of the

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

. The structure was designed by the court architect Koca Kasım Ağa, but the construction works began under the supervision of another court architect, Mustafa Ağa, in the last months of 1660; following Istanbul's Great Fire of 1660 that began on 24 July 1660 and, lasting for slightly more than two days (circa 49 hours, according to the chronicles of Abdi Pasha), destroyed many neighbourhoods in the city.Istanbul Fire Brigade: A chronological list of major fires in the history of Istanbul
/ref>Walkingistanbul.com: Fountain of Sultana Turhan Hatice
/ref> A major rebuilding and redevelopment effort started in the city following the fire, which included the resumption of the New Mosque's construction works in 1660 (halted between 1603 and 1660, the construction of the mosque was ultimately completed between 1660 and 1665) and the beginning of the Spice Bazaar's construction in the same year (all buildings in the New Mosque

, including the Spice Bazaar, were commissioned by Sultana Turhan Hatice, the Valide Sultan (Queen Mother) of Sultan

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV (; ; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693), nicknamed as Mehmed the Hunter (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup. Mehmed went on to b ...

Egyptian Bazaar today

Spice Bazaar has a total of 85 shops selling spices, Turkish delight and other sweets, jewellery, souvenirs, and dried fruits and nuts.

Gallery

File:Istanbul Misir carsisi.JPG, Spice Bazaar building File:20131204 Istanbul 237.jpg, Products of the Spice Bazaar File:Basar especies.JPG, Products of the Spice Bazaar File:Dried chillies in Spice Bazaar Istanbul.jpg, Dried chillies in the spice bazaar File:Dried vegetables on Spice bazaar in Istanbul 03.jpg, Dried vegetables on Spice bazaar File:DSC04670 Istanbul - Bazar egiziano - Spezie - Foto G. Dall'Orto 30-5-2006.jpg, The colourful Spice bazaar on Spice bazaar File:20180114 SpiceBazaar 7435 (39434747884).jpg, Main street of the bazaar File:Kruiden in Egyptische bazaar Eminönü Istanbul.JPG, Spices on sale File:Istanbul spice bazaar 02.jpg, Dried fruits in the Spice Bazaar File:Spice Market in Istanbul.JPG, Inside the Bazaar File:Istanbul Basar Yeni Camii Nov 2018 h.jpg, Inside the Bazaar File:Spice Bazaar in Istanbul.jpg, Entrance to the Bazaar File:Night Spice market in Casablanca.JPG, Spice bazar in Casablanca, Morocco

References

Sources

External links