Even we couldn't eat all day long. Some minutes of the days were set aside for shopping.

Grand Bazaar
Let's get this one out of the way! After my varied souk experiences throughout the Middle East, I opted out of visiting the Grand Bazaar on my first trip to Istanbul. By this point I didn't really need anything and it wouldn't be much of a cultural experience for me. But the second time around, I was definitely wondering about it and tagged along with my eager friends—as long as they promised me we could go to Ortaköy afterwards.

Kip and Patrick went off for "real" sightseeing while the women attacked the bazaar. Early in the morning and during low season, the bazaar lay almost empty and stall owners seemed a bit desperate. While I do love the bazaar scene and Istanbul's Grand Bazaar is particularly lovely, I always find with the tourist traps that only 6-7 products are really for sale; the more we wandered, the more I felt we were running into the same shops over and over.

Taking a quick break at a coffee shop, Jamie, Rubina and April all ordered gorgeous drinks that were extremely overpriced—welcome to the tourist zone! A few rings were purchased, but little else accomplished. I fell in love with some stunning textured pottery which came in many forms and beautiful shades of deep red, green and blue. However, seeing the same items repeated over and over in every stall took away my drive to buy a pretty blue plate at the bazaar.

Beyoğlu Turkish Art Store
I'm so glad we held off from buying ceramics at the frenzied Grand Bazaar, because this beautiful art store and its knowledgeable, friendly young owner provided the ideal shopping experience. Located on Istiklal Street down near Tünel, the store features the same gorgeous red, green and blue textured plates that are all over the Bazaar, but without any harassment. The store also stocks large replicas of famous Turkish ceramics, mostly displayed in museums around the world. The owner Fatih is happy to show the matching original in his picture books and is informative about Iznik, the town where most high-quality Turkish ceramics and tiles are produced.

Jamie spent a long time deciding between two dazzling plates painted in lovely blue and green designs, but Fatih was very patient with her. Of course, he was also harboring a massive crush. Rubina and April found very cute replicas of Turkish tiles in small magnet form. In addition to my beautiful blue textured plate I got a large copper coffee pot for a reasonable price. Fatih knew the quality of his products and wasn't easy to bargain with, but he wasn't unmovable. We left with piles of ceramics and the very welcome recommendation for manti at Otantik. Beyoğlu Turkish Art Store is a great shopping experience, and highly recommended.

Beyoglu Turkish Art Store website

Ortaköy
I learned about Ortaköy on my first visit. My host's girlfriend had great jewelry, and since I'm always seeking more unique pieces, she recommended I visit the small Bosphorus village of Ortaköy. It was set on the picturesque waterfront, filled with great jewelry shops at reasonable prices, and a good place to try kumpir.

The easiest way to get to Ortaköy is by taxi. We walked back to Eminönü from the Grand Bazaar, basically heading downhill in hopes we'd eventually reach the water. Normally the drive goes over the Galata Bridge and then up along the Bosphorous, costing about 6YTL.

To our utter confusion, there was some traffic issue causing the driver to go up around Beşiktaş instead. The driver helpfully turned up the radio, not realizing we couldn't understand Turkish news. Finally he kept repeating "Dölmabahçe...finished!" while he mimed shooting a gun and saying "savaş" (war). Totally puzzled and extremely worried, I thought he was telling us Dölmabahçe Palace had been targeted for a terrorist attack as part of the Iraq war.

Turned out it was just protest of the war that started at Dölmabahçe...unbeknownst to us, Kip had gone to the area at the same time, resulting in some great photojournalism. Meanwhile, we wound our way around hills of Beşiktaş—it cost 16YTL to get to Ortaköy but the views were magnificent.

On a normal day, Ortaköy's shops already have some of the best selection and price in the city, especially when it comes to silver jewelry. On a Saturday the town turns into a market, with vendors filling the plaza in front of the mosque. We found cute scarves, nice leather bags, and beautiful strings of brightly-colored beads.

Still, the best jewelry is found in the permanent stores, where the vendors do not apply pressure. I was happy that the tiny shop where I'd bought a couple rings for Rubina the year before still had an impressive selection of unusual designs. At one very nice shop, I bought myself a striking domed ring with nubs of black onyx dotting the sides and garnet at the top—the most Ottoman-style piece of jewelry I will ever own.

Ortaköy is also a pleasant place to grab some food and has a college-y nightlife scene of its own, like a little getaway spot from the bustling city. In addition to the ubiquitous kumpir (stuffed potatoes), Anatolian foods such as gözleme and mantı are prevalent here. In the summer it's especially recommended to sit at a waterfront café and wile away the day with lazy shopping.

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