#9 Egyptian Spice Bazaar and Eminonu

The Spice Bazaar and surrounding Eminonu neighborhood are a fantastic find in Istanbul.

 While the Grand Bazaar is fabulous in it's own right, for tons of items-

the Spice Bazaar is the "food bazaar", Porter calls it.

There are piles and piles of beautifully displayed spices, 

Turkish delight, and an amazing variety of dried fruits and nuts. 

It is also home to the "olive oil" vendors of the city-

as Turkey is definitely smack in the middle of Olive Country!

They are also not shy about offering samples of 

anything that catches your eye, (and things that don't) ha!

It is an experience all it's own for all of your 5 senses.

Here Miles and I are sampling my favorite Turkish delight to date:

Pomegranate Pistachio!

You'll notice that it is hot pink and lime green?

Maybe that is a large part of the reason it is my favorite, just maybe.

Porter's class came here on a field trip when they were doing a unit on the 5 senses!

I love that they got to come to such awesome, historical places like this.

He, being the classic 5 year old that he was at the time- thought it was a bit much for his little senses!

He was a good sport, as they had all the children sample the treats,and smell the spices. 

More treats

Aside from the food, the area also boasts many of the 

same things you can find at the Grand Bazaar; BUT for a much cheaper price. 

If you are looking to buy numerous knick knacks and such, 

then this is where you want to come. 

You will always get a better deal in this area, according to my experience.

The Eminonu area right around the Spice Bazaar 

is THE place in the city to find whatever it is you need. 

More times than I can count, when I have asked someone

 where I could find a certain item-the answer is always the same: Eminonu. 

There is anything and everything you want, from cake decorating shops to huge selections of soccer jerseys from all around the world. 

Us by the "fancy" Turkish delight. This is made with extra honey instead of sugar. 

It is supposed to last much longer (but it's also much more expensive!)

All in all, a unique fun experience -that also comes with great shopping. 

Definitely the best deals on most things I've scored in the city. 

As a side note: They also spent a good deal of time recently filming the new James Bond movie that is due out in November (I think) here in this area. It was all closed off for a while. Can't wait to see it!