My first trip to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul was both shocking, exhilarating and entertaining. It was one of the busiest places I had ever been to, and there was more going on around me than I could manage to comprehend. The bustling corridors mimicked the seismic activity of the San Andreas fault and the noise levels were like that of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption (yes, geology metaphors).

I had a few things in mind for this trip to the Bazaar, and I wanted to get them all done as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to spend hours getting lost in the labyrinth of hallways and rooms, only to spend all of my money on things that I certainly didn’t need. So, I made a plan. First of all, I needed shoes. Next, I needed to pick up souvenirs for family and friends. Third, (not that I planned on buying any, but) I wanted to check out the infamous Turkish rugs in the furniture market.

So, I was off. The first part of my Grand adventure was spent haggling for shoes and braving the stalls of the pushy Turkish salesmen. Once that was finished, it was on to souvenir shopping.

Unfortunately, I had put off this aspect of my trip until now. I had a large number of family and friends that would be expecting  a  little something from my trip, and I would have to spend a bit of time putting thought into each gift.

I wandered through the hallways, looking at every booth that I passed by. There were small trinkets and dangling decorations. There were towels and dishes, adorned with traditional Turkish designs and scarves made with intricate designs.

Entire booths were hidden behind thick walls of ornate stained glass lanterns that sparkled in the dim lights of the Bazaar. Each one was more beautiful than the last, and no two seemed to be the same colour or design.

It was easy to find the right souvenirs here, as there was more than enough to choose from. It only became an issue of trying to stop myself from spending too much money, and not get carried away with the shopping.

Now that the shopping was taken care of, it was time for some carpets. I passed all of the clothing booths, and went around the food stalls and kitchen carts. I skipped over the accessories and bypassed the spices. I zeroed in on what I had been hoping to see all day; the Turkish rugs.

In the far corner of the bazaar, it seemed that the crowd had thinned out, and the noise level became more of a hush. The indoor hallways gave way to open ceilings and hidden doorways that housed exclusive Turkish rug shops. This was the traditional Turkish carpet destination, and I had found myself wandering around it in awe. It was exactly what I had ever expected, and more.

I really got caught up looking through all of the carpets and furniture. I didn’t dare to go inside any of the closed door shops, knowing that I would be sat down, served tea, and made to look through several hundred carpet options. Not that this would be a bad thing, but I certainly couldn’t afford any of the prices that they would be asking for.

I stuck to the outdoor furniture market and became wrapped up in the idea of Turkish home decor, before heading back to the streets of Istanbul. It had been a long afternoon of haggling, shopping and exploring in the Grand Bazaar, and I was ready to go home. if you ever find yourself in Turkey, with the means to ship purchases back home, I would highly suggest a visit to the Grand Bazaar’s furniture section.