Bazaar

The Festival brings the Turkish Bazaar Culture into the heart of Washington, DC. More than 25 vendors participate and sell exciting authentic and modern Turkish items including silver, jewelry, personal and home accessories, shawls, hip scarves, pottery, and much more.

The Bazaar culture is engraved in the Turkish way of life. The color, the variety, the noise, the crowd, the bargaining and all the chaos of the market place is an irreplaceable part of the Turkish culture. A leisurely afternoon spent exploring the bazaar, touching and feeling the items on display, bargaining for purchases and then sitting in one of the cafés with friends and having a cup of strong Turkish coffee or tea is very common among the Turks. Bazaars are the most common stops to shop for important events such as the weddings, celebrations, and big family gatherings, but they are also useful for daily and random needs. For this reason, it is not surprising that one of the oldest and largest indoors markets in the world is located in Istanbul. Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is a massive labyrinth of 4,000 shops lining up the flanks of 58 covered streets and has between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. It is known for its jewelry, pottery, spices, and carpet shops. The bazaar contains two "bedestens" (domed masonry structures built for storage and safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.