Shopping in Turkey & What to Buy

Last Updated on December 9, 2022

Shopping in Turkey is great, with open-air markets, covered Turkish bazaars, and chic boutiques everywhere. Turkish carpets and ceramics are world-famous but the list by no means stops there! Bargaining (or haggling) is sometimes part of the experience. Do it right, and it can be a pleasant—and profitable—social experience.

 

Here's how and where to shop in Turkey for the most popular items:

Ethnicon/Dhoku Carpets 

Owner Memet Gureli runs EthniCon and Dhoku in Istanbul to sell some of the highest quality Turkish carpets to consumers from around the world. He is a third generation carpet salesman who has been selling in the Grand Bazaar for 45 years. As the most award-winning rug company in Turkey, EthniCon offers outstanding prices for their Turkish carpets of the highest quality and style without overcharging customers, as many carpet shops do. 

Tell Dhoku/Ethnicon Carpets that "Turkey Travel Planner sent you" for best pricing, often times additional discounts, and assurance of an excellent experience because of the valued TTP recommendation!

Iznik Works Ceramics

Iznik Works has been a trusted name in Turkish ceramics for years, located in Grand Bazaar, and featuring a vast selection of reproductions of Seljuk and Ottoman works. There are 4 locations to choose from in the Grand Bazaar so don't miss out on this shop that brings history and traditional artwork together for it's customers.

Tell Iznik Works that "Turkey Travel Planner sent you" for best pricing, often times additional discounts, and assurance of an excellent experience because of the valued TTP recommendation!

Kybele Boutique Ceramic Pottery

At Kybele Ceramics, not only do you get to watch the artisans themselves at their work, you get to give it a try yourself. After explaining the history and how-to of ceramics, one of the master potters will take you through the steps of creating your own work of art. In the end, you will have the opportunity to buy some of the ceramics which have been shaped, fired, glazed, and painted all by hand.

Tell them "Turkey Travel Planner sent you" for the best pricing, often times additional discounts, and assurance of an excellent experience because of the valued TTP recommendation!

Bazaar 54

If you're interested in purchasing a carpet the Bazaar 54 offers a personal showroom with a carpet expert, who will give you the intriguing history behind each different specialty rug (kilims) or carpet as well as detailed information on the variety of styles for sale.

Tell them "Turkey Travel Planner sent you" for the best pricing, often times additional discounts, and assurance of an excellent experience because of the valued TTP recommendation!

The only drawback to wandering in a bazaar is the çığırtkanlar, the touts who shout at you as you approach or pass their shops, restaurants or other places of business. The first one is a curiosity, the second one local color, the third one annoying, and the 15th one insanity. They can be unsetting, not letting you even think as you walk along a street. I never go into a shop from which someone has shouted at me.

If you do shop in Turkey, watch out for this VAT tax refund scam.

Want an adventure on your own? Follow my Istanbul Bazaars Walking Tour.

See my recommendations below about what to buy in Turkey.

Books, Maps & Prints (Old)

Istanbul has the best places to shop.

Brass & Copper

They're attractive, decorative, useful and relatively inexpensive, but don't use copper items for cooking or serving unless the surfaces that contact food are completely covered in bright, silver-colored tin.

Alabaster

The color, grain, and light passing through this pretty stone is why you like it.

Antiques

Old stuff is found all over Turkey, but the best antique shops are undoubtedly in Istanbul. But don't buy antiquities! More...

Apparel

Turkey produces a lot of wool and cotton and manufactures a lot of clothing from it. Quality varies from poor to excellent. You'll see many knock-offs (fake goods) bearing famous brands, names, and logos. Should you buy them?

Evil Eye Beads (Nazar Bonjuk)

Turkish evil eye beads are a delightful handcrafted item with a tradition stretching back at least 5000 years. Wear them for good luck, and decorate your house and car to keep away the "bad spirits!"

Jewelry

Turkey is a good place to look for big, bold, old necklaces, brooches, clasps, belts, and other items, as well as finer, more delicate modern work. Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is good, as is the Egyptian (Spice) Market, but shops and bazaars in other towns will have interesting selections as well. When buying silver or gold, be sure to look for the maker's hallmark stamped into an inconspicuous part of the piece, certifying that it is genuine. Pewter and nickel-silver are sometimes passed off as sterling silver, though not by reputable dealers.

Kilims

A kilim is a woven mat. Unlike a carpet, it has no nap. The bold designs and earthy colors so valued in kilims are a Turkish hallmark. A few decades ago kilims were seen as inferior to carpets and were much cheaper, but today the bold, forthright kilim designs and colors are valued and priced appropriately. Shop around for what you like, and compare prices.

Leather Apparel

Istanbul is the center of the trade, but all cities have shops of leather and suede coats, jackets, skirts, dresses, vests, hats, gloves, handbags, wallets, and many other items.

Meerschaum

Turkey is the world's foremost source of this soft white stone that's carved into cool-smoking pipes and cigarette holders and also used to make necklaces, earrings, and brooches.

Museum Pass

You can certainly save time and possibly save money by buying a Museum Pass for Istanbul, the Aegean, Cappadocia, the Mediterranean, or for all of Turkey.

Silk

Bursa has been the center of Turkey's silk trade for centuries. Silkworms are raised on mulberry leaves in nearby districts and brought to Bursa's Koza Han (Silk Cocoon Caravanserai) each May to be auctioned. The fine silk thread is unwound and woven into scarves, shawls, blouses and other items which are sold in Bursa's Covered Market and other shops and markets throughout Turkey.

Harbiye (Daphne), near Antakya at the far eastern end of Turkey's Mediterranean coast, is also a traditional silk-weaving center because of its position on the historic Silk Road, and the mulberry trees growing at the Roman resort of Daphne.

Turkish Carpets

Carpets and kilims were part of Turkish nomadic households a thousand years before the Turks settled in Anatolia and lived in houses instead of tents and yurts. Carpet shops are everywhere in Turkey, but their carpets may not have been made in Turkey (did someone say China?).

Turkish Ceramics

Turkey has been famous for excellent faience (colored tilework) since the 16th century when the kilns of İznik turned out some of the most beautiful work ever made. The classic İznik pieces are now classified as antiquities and may not be exported, but the master potters of Kütahya are still making excellent plates, bowls, cups, tiles, and other items in the traditional way. Turkish ceramics are sold all over Turkey for prices from a few US dollars to several hundred, depending on the item and its quality.

Wood, Inlaid

Items such as boxes, chess and backgammon boards, etc. make attractive and relatively inexpensive souvenirs. Look carefully to make sure you're really buying inlaid wood. Surprisingly accurate decals are sometimes used to give the look of inlay without all that work of cutting and fitting.

—by Tom Brosnahan

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