The Istanbul Diaries, Pt. V: This Ain't Morocco...

...therefore, the cheap, but quality, handmade scarf game was non-existent. 

I just assumed that I'd be able to find really cheap, yet still quality and handmade goods in Istanbul, reminiscent of how I purchased a hand-woven blanket in Morocco for around $6 when I went in 2010. But no. I also thought that I'd just gift women with scarves and men with coffee. The coffee expectation was met; the scarf situation was borderline depressing. 

Since we lived in an extremely central location, one would think that the souvenir game would be absolutely phenomenal, but it wasn't. I spent so much time looking for the perfect, handmade, cheap scarves that I got somewhat desperate and just settled on some tacky things that I was later ashamed to have purchased. I ended up going back to the place the next day and arguing with the vendor until he swapped the scarves (not hand-woven, by the way) with a cute little bag that I'll be gifting to one of my sisters. Morals of the story: don't gift shop near the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque unless you're shopping around the Arasta Bazaar (specifically Jennifer's Hamam, where Semy and Erin work, which sells organic and hand-crafted materials by some of the last families and individuals weaving in the traditional Turkish manner) and don't settle for anything that you don't absolutely love. 

I said that I couldn't find cheaply priced, handmade goods in Istanbul. To clarify, everything is much cheaper since they don't use the euro, dollar, or pound, but Morocco just spoiled me to really, really cheap and quality goods, so having one set of expectations just to find the reality somewhat less than ideal is a letdown. 

Since my dream souvenir shopping and the reality didn't mesh, I had to regroup and find some different things. These are the conclusions to which I came:

The Spice Bazaar is our friend! Turkey is known for its great spices, so those are really interesting, novel things to purchase for people. Teas and coffee will be gifted to a few folks back home. If you ever go, store #30, Bakas, is a great place. They're friendly and their spices seem to be of great quality. They definitely got a ton of business from me. Also, #14 and #16 have this really great mix called olive oil mix. I'm not quite sure how I'll use it, but it smelled good, so I'll be experimenting back home. Finally, on the outside of the Bazaar, #11 has the best Turkish delight I tasted in Istanbul; they also have really random flavors, such as one that's covered in saffron. Overall, people there don't mind bargaining, so you can get a good bang for your buck (or Turkish Lira) if you talk to the right people in the right way.

Spices make one of the perfect gifts!

Not really sure which number this is, but its name is Kasa and
they have really good dried veggies for soups!

The really bright green Turkish delight is rose-flavored with
pistachios on both the outside and inside!

Easy Shopping Turkish Gifts Department Store (Hudavendigar Cad. No: 10/2 34110-Sirkeci/Istanbul) is a new store in the same area as Hafiz Mustafa. The owners are two brothers, one of whom is named Serkan. When we went to look inside, the store had been open for just one week and had two stories. They had an extremely wide array of seemingly everything from scarves to ceramics...and they weren't even done stocking the place. In talking to Serkan, I found out that he and his brother planned to make the store a seven or eight story department store of souvenirs. Each floor would have a different theme (the first floor just basic tourist items, the second ceramics [both handmade and of the Made in China variety], third floor expensive hand-crafted Turkish items, fourth carpets, etc.). They plan to turn the rooftop into a terrace for people to relax and have a nice view of the Bosporus, regardless of whether they purchased anything and free drinks would be given to patrons (why, yes, I did get some free apple tea!). He was very clear that all prices are fixed--therefore, no bargaining--but I don't think that will deter people from shopping there. I purchased some scarves (not handmade, but still really cute), soaps, and this amazing ceramic serving platter there. The soaps and platter were handmade; the former was really decently priced and had descriptions for each scent of soap (these are now what women will be gifted instead of scarves) and the platter was also reasonably priced, especially since it was handmade by a local artist. If Serkan and his brother can make the reality as amazing as he described to me, it's going to be a great place for people to purchase gifts without having to go to 50 million stores searching for one perfect item.

The Red Rose soap smelled phenomenal!

The ground floor of Easy Shopping Turkish Gifts Department Store

With Serkan, one of the owners

Overall, the scarf game just isn't like it was in Morocco, but I learned to accept that...kinda. I think I made gift shopping too complicated by trying to compare Turkish offerings to those of Morocco simply because they were both cheap. Hopefully, I've learned my lesson and won't give myself a headache the next time I go to a country whose currency is cheaper than mine.