Take pictures, but buy elsewhere unless you are in a hurry. I am not sure if the spices are higher grade than elsewhere in Istanbul, because the prices for spices and dried fruits are double compared to regular shops in Istanbul! However the little shops outside along the roads around the spice market are worth visiting to purchase.

Exceptionally good in our opinion. The colours and scents were intoxicating, love the coloured spices, dried flower teas, olives, nougats, Turkish delight. All so brilliant. Building of arches that reminded us of cathedrals. No shopkeepers dragging you into the shop to buy their products. Only an offering of nougats and Turkish delight for sampling.

The stores were pretty much all of the same genre. The displays were mind-boggling with their fragrances and colors. It's so tempting to go in and ask for a teensy bag of our favorite spice. While you taste said spice, they ply you wth samples of "suggested" teas and other spices. So who can resist a taste? By the time you've had a taste of various products, I ended up with 5 bags of teas and spices. Small scoops were used for each bag, much larger scoops that I had intended. Then they air-packed each bag free (Ioved that amenity). And then gave me an air packed bag of free nuts because we bought such a "large order". At that point it hit me that my little bags of spices and teas were going to cost me $98. I was so shocked, I did not ask for a lower price (that's on me!). Always ask for price as you go along and demand (haggle) the customary best price at the end. When I got home I found that the spices were excellent and the teas refreshing.

Well ... there's certainly lots of choice. It's pretty exotic to Western eyes. Lots of spices etc that I simply did not recognise. Many stalls are selling the same of similar things, but itr is a joy to wandre round and sample the complex aromas .

So much more than just spices! We wound up here 3 times during our 4-day stay because one of our group had seen something and wanted to return for it, or we remembered someone we needed to get a gift for. Spices, dried fruits, lokum, Turkish souvenirs, cheeses, meats, and on and on and on.

1. Restrooms: around the corner down the escalator. For a fee 2 definitely come as early as possible. The market gets PACKED later in the day 3. All stalls are the same and the prices are more or less the same 4. Lots of samples to taste 5. Some spices are awesome. Some spices are just blah, meaning they taste and smell great at the bazaar, but once packaged and brought home, absolutely no flavor. I don’t know why. We bought cabin spice that lost all its flavor once we opened it at the house. For some chicken spice, that one tastes amazing

What a unique experience, the colour and the rows and rows of shops selling spices was really special and I was pleased I took this in as part of my trip. Sampled the Turkish Delight, not the jelly stuff but some proper Turkish Delight and immediately decided I needed to take some back. This was vacuum packed to keep it fresh. This is a can’t miss experience,

Always a delight to stroll through! It’s almost sensory overload at this delightful bazaar! Aromatic spices and a rainbow of colours. Merchants are friendly but not pushy, which makes for a very enjoyable browse! Located in the Eminönü district, the Spice Bazaar can be found just across from the New Mosque. As well, it’s only a few minutes walk to/from the Grand Bazaar.

I loved the Spice Market. Yes, it’s expensive, so I browsed and didn’t buy. But I LOVED strolling and looking at everything. Some stalls were more aggressive than others but overall it was a much more peaceful experience than the Grand Bazar. It gets crowded later in the day.

This bazaar is more interesting than the Great Bazar close by even if it is quite small and can be walked though in less than 10 min. However, the name is rather misleading. There are not especially much spices here, if you don't count tea and baklava as spices. It is nothing like the Khan el Khalili bazar in Cairo, in both a good and a bad perspective. No intensive hawking here, much more relaxed, but no colourful sacks of spices either. It's an easy spot to get to, the tram and metro is just outside, so it should be on your itinerary, but it wil most likely not be the place to buy exotic spices from.