{"id":386,"date":"2015-06-23T01:00:46","date_gmt":"2015-06-23T01:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/?p=386"},"modified":"2022-07-20T19:54:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-20T19:54:14","slug":"shopping-in-istanbul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to know when shopping in Istanbul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shopping in Istanbul<\/a> is a different experience to what I\u2019m used to in Australia. At home, sales assistants greet you but mostly leave you to browse and make your own choices or leave empty handed. They may offer help and are absolutely there if you need it, but you\u2019re generally allowed to do your own thing and can be in and out quickly.<\/p>\n

Not so, in Istanbul. You can be treated like a celebrity if you\u2019re willing to indulge, but if you don\u2019t like the pressure of money-eyed shop assistants or just wanted a quick look around, then be warned\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Grand<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a0Flickr<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Take A Seat<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You hear about celebrities going shopping at designer stores and they close the entire store just for them. They sit down and have coffee or champagne while having the latest fashions brought to them.<\/p>\n

Well in Istanbul, you can be that celebrity.<\/p>\n

It was a bit surprising (and for my own tastes off-putting) when several stores \u2013 including market stalls in the Grand Bazaar \u2013 offered myself and my travel mate a seat. We just wanted to browse the shelves and you can\u2019t actually do that from the couch at the front. It can feel rude not to accept the invitation, but if you\u2019re pressed for time or were just taking a peek inside, then it\u2019s probably best to decline.<\/p>\n

Pro tip: Take a seat and you make a time investment. The sales assistant or store owner now has your time and attention and is emboldened by the possibility they are one step closer to making a sale.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Have Some Tea<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Turskish<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a0Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Seated or not, you will commonly be offered an apple tea \u2013 a local specialty. I\u2019m personally not a tea drinker (no seat, no tea \u2013 I am a terrible shopper in Turkey!). We were in Istanbul for only a day \u2013 I could have browsed half the bazaar in the time it took me to drink that tea.<\/p>\n

Pro tip: if you\u2019re not in a rush, I do hope you will accept this hospitality at least once and come away with the full, special experience of the differences of shopping in Turkey and at home.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You Big Flirt, You<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Shopkeeper<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a0Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve come across flirtatious store assistants before, but have never been taken lovingly by the arm, walked to the front of a leather goods store and had the sales assistant ask passing cruise ship shore excursionists if we make a cute couple.<\/p>\n

I was travelling with a girl friend and we were complimented at many stores and had a lot of male shop assistants \u2013 who are in abundance \u2013 use every technique they could think of (if you know what I mean ) to get a sale.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No Doesn\u2019t Exist<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When the stall holder or shop keeper doesn\u2019t seem to understand the word \u2018no\u2019 (figuratively or literally) and you do actually like the wares they\u2019re selling but don\u2019t want to spend your precious holiday money on it, then you might find yourself with a problem.<\/p>\n

My custom-made leather jacket selling suitor wouldn\u2019t accept that I wasn\u2019t going to spend \u20ac300-800 on a leather jacket. I like leather jackets but it was summer and I already had one in my over-packed suitcase \u2013 one that didn\u2019t cost \u20ac800. But it\u2019s alright \u2013 \u20ac800 wasn\u2019t his final offer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Haggle Me, Baby<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Istanbul<\/p>\n

Credit:\u00a0Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If haggling is your forte then you might just walk out of the bazaar with a bargain. But be warned: haggling is also a forte for Turkish shopkeepers and stall holders and they\u2019ve probably had a lot more practice at it than you.<\/p>\n

Personally, I don\u2019t like to haggle. When I travel, I feel like I\u2019m in a more fortunate financial position than those I\u2019m purchasing from. From my own experience, markets are hard work with a lot of financial outlay before you can break even, let alone thrive. I want to pay what the store holder thinks is fair.<\/p>\n

But sometimes you don\u2019t have the money to pay that fair price. Wandering through the Grand Bazaar, perusing glittering jewels, exotic spices and mesmerising Turkish lamps, we got to talking to a stall holder and popped into his stall. It was filled with beautiful cashmere scarves \u2013 very expensive cashmere scarves.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t afford them, had reached maximum souvenir purchasing levels and only had \u20ac15 in cash for the rest of the day. I wasn\u2019t going to haggle him down so he couldn\u2019t afford to feed himself just so I could take home something pretty.<\/p>\n

He showed me scarves and asked what I would pay. I didn\u2019t want to buy one but they were gorgeous and soft and looked amazing on me. And we were only being hypothetical. He knew I wasn\u2019t going to buy. I told him I didn\u2019t want to undercut him. He asked how much I would pay and I said \u20ac15 was all I had \u2013 not that I would pay \u20ac15 but that I literally didn\u2019t have any more, and I wasn\u2019t buying a scarf anyway. He kept asking and asking, and asking, and then he finally agreed to \u20ac15.<\/p>\n

\"turkey-scarves-shopping\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve only worn it a couple of times to be honest, but I don\u2019t regret it. It\u2019s a beautiful scarf.<\/p>\n

But it certainly does make me wonder exactly how big the sales margin is on the stock at markets \u2013 and the shops in general. Surely, he wouldn\u2019t have sold it to me at cost price or less, right?<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t feel bad about haggling in Istanbul. Even the leather jacket store owner (a real store, not a market stall) was willing to haggle and if you\u2019re looking for top quality goods then you may well be able to talk them down to prices you\u2019re happy to pay.<\/p>\n

Pro tip: keep your wits about you and be wary of store holders who agree on one price but conveniently forget it when it comes to handing over your money. But haggle away when shopping in Istanbul \u2013 what have you got to lose?<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"shopping-istanbul-grand-bazaar\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shopping in Istanbul is a different experience to what I\u2019m used to in Australia. At home, sales assistants greet you but mostly leave you to browse and make your own choices or leave empty handed. They may offer help and are absolutely there if you need it, but you\u2019re generally allowed to do your own… Continue reading Things to know when shopping in Istanbul<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,21,9,69,34,22,13],"tags":[24,153],"authors":[],"class_list":["post-386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activities","category-asia","category-shopping-spa","category-tips-inspiration","category-travel-diaries","category-turkey","category-world","tag-istanbul","tag-shopping","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThings to Know When Shopping in Istanbul<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Things to Know When Shopping in Istanbul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expedia MY Stories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-23T01:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-20T19:54:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Gray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Gray\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/\",\"name\":\"Things to Know When Shopping in Istanbul\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-23T01:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-20T19:54:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/16dfd645db9e4ade59a4790b2655cd3c\"},\"description\":\"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Things to know when shopping in Istanbul\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/\",\"name\":\"Expedia MY Stories\",\"description\":\"Just another WordPress site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/16dfd645db9e4ade59a4790b2655cd3c\",\"name\":\"Andrew Gray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93806db7c66e1d34e1265dcbfee63f26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93806db7c66e1d34e1265dcbfee63f26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Andrew Gray\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.wave.dev\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/author\/Andrew Gray\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Things to Know When Shopping in Istanbul","description":"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Things to Know When Shopping in Istanbul","og_description":"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/","og_site_name":"Expedia MY Stories","article_published_time":"2015-06-23T01:00:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-07-20T19:54:14+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrew Gray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Gray","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/","name":"Things to Know When Shopping in Istanbul","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg","datePublished":"2015-06-23T01:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2022-07-20T19:54:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/16dfd645db9e4ade59a4790b2655cd3c"},"description":"Learn how to be better at shopping in Istanbul, Turkey. Tips from travel blogger on navigating the colourful Turkish bazaars and bargaining.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/shopping-istanbul.jpg","width":800,"height":533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/activities\/shopping-in-istanbul\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Things to know when shopping in Istanbul"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/","name":"Expedia MY Stories","description":"Just another WordPress site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/16dfd645db9e4ade59a4790b2655cd3c","name":"Andrew Gray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93806db7c66e1d34e1265dcbfee63f26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/93806db7c66e1d34e1265dcbfee63f26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Andrew Gray"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.wave.dev\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/author\/Andrew Gray\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7459,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386\/revisions\/7459"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.my\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}