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Afar Highlight, Grand Bazaar, Brick dome #4029 with Yellow Arches (#3995) inset, horizontal).jpg
Look up once inside any gate to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. The ceiling will provide clues as to which part of the Bazaar you are in.
The Iҁ (or Cevahir) Bedesten is deep in the center of the Bazaar. The concentric red brick circles of its high, domed ceiling shelter the Bazaar’s most precious jewelry and antiques. One of the few structures remaining from the time of Mehmet II, the Conqueror, the Bedesten was a source of revenue for Aya Sofya after the original Byzantine church was converted to an Ottoman mosque. The nearby Sandal Bedesteni, which carries textiles, has a similar red brick ceiling.
Elsewhere in the Bazaar, look up to find yourself beneath a path of yellow arches with blue arabesques; or variations in beige; or under ceilings in which the patina of centuries belies (or defies) location.
Combined with the abundance of jewelry, antiques, carpets, silver, leather, textiles, house wares, or souvenir shops in any particular section, Bazaar ceilings can help wanderers find their way. To find an exit, look for the word “kapali” (door or gate). It pays to know where you would like to end up, the name of the kapali you seek, and the section of the Bazaar that it’s in – there are at least half a dozen main gates (some near taxi stands) and as many as twelve smaller entrances to the Bazaar with approaches under arched stone ceilings from the time of the sultans.
Links:
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
The Iҁ (or Cevahir) Bedesten is deep in the center of the Bazaar. The concentric red brick circles of its high, domed ceiling shelter the Bazaar’s most precious jewelry and antiques. One of the few structures remaining from the time of Mehmet II, the Conqueror, the Bedesten was a source of revenue for Aya Sofya after the original Byzantine church was converted to an Ottoman mosque. The nearby Sandal Bedesteni, which carries textiles, has a similar red brick ceiling.
Elsewhere in the Bazaar, look up to find yourself beneath a path of yellow arches with blue arabesques; or variations in beige; or under ceilings in which the patina of centuries belies (or defies) location.
Combined with the abundance of jewelry, antiques, carpets, silver, leather, textiles, house wares, or souvenir shops in any particular section, Bazaar ceilings can help wanderers find their way. To find an exit, look for the word “kapali” (door or gate). It pays to know where you would like to end up, the name of the kapali you seek, and the section of the Bazaar that it’s in – there are at least half a dozen main gates (some near taxi stands) and as many as twelve smaller entrances to the Bazaar with approaches under arched stone ceilings from the time of the sultans.
Links:
www.Afar.com for more highlights by Mary Ramos
- Copyright
- Marylinda Ramos
- Image Size
- 2014x1343 / 3.7MB
- Contained in galleries
- Istanbul: Highlights from Afar.com
