Rug Shopping with Expert, Grand Bazaar; Private Tour

going into this i knew i wanted to have someone with me with more knowledge on Turkish handmade Rugs, and Ali Yalniz did not disappoint.! Ali, was extremely helpful in learning about rugs in turkey. how they were made, what materials are used, how they make them, and right down to the patterns. Great communication and very very helpful. Lets just say after visiting a few of his recommendation i walked away very happy, the overall experience is unreal.. He also has other tours he does and has conections if you are visiting Cappadocia. The owners of the shop very very kind and helpful, very relaxed made you feel like you are family.! Again thank you very much.!

We knew we would like a rug as a Turkish souvenir so finding Ali was the perfect answer. We gave him some info upfront on what we were looking for and he delivered! Ali is so knowledgeable on Turkish and other “oriental” rugs and educated us while offering Turkish coffee and tea in the first shop. We spent much more than the allotted time agonizing over the beautiful options but Ali was ever patient and even offered to go to still more shops. When one salesman was a little too pushy, he stepped in to “save” me and we left to see a wholesaler who purchased used and antique rugs. We found 3 unique rugs we could not live without and Ali made arrangements for shipments home. Very educated, articulate and fascinating person to show you Istanbul and especially the rug markets!

The Grand Bazaar and surrounding streets full of stalls are a fascinating mix of old and new. Don’t worry about safety, you feel very safe and not scared to walk around freely any time of day or night. Weekends do get really busy as locals also visit but even though it’s crowded you still feel safe. The main covered area which is known as the bazaar does feel very commercial and more like a Mall as each stall has a sign and standard size but the many many streets surrounding the area are the old style traditional stalls that you imagine a bazaar to be like. Street after street of narrow walkways with all kinds of wares for sale. There’s food and restaurant areas, and dessert cafes, all of which give a nice resting place before more shopping. There’s no pressure to buy, in fact the stall holders wait for you to approach, not like many years ago. You won’t find and gold or jewellery stalls but spices, Turkish delight, fruit, nuts, traditional crafts, bags, T-shirt’s and souvenirs are in abundance.