The Grand Bazaar began in 1461 as two masonry halls built on the order of Mehmed II, and it grew outwards from there for four centuries. Today it covers sixty-one streets under one roof and holds around four thousand shops, which makes it one of the largest covered markets in the world.
The trades are grouped by quarter, a habit left over from the guild system. Gold has its own street, carpets another, leather and ceramics others again. The oldest part, the Ic Bedesten at the centre, still deals in antiques and old silver.
It opens at nine and closes at seven, and it is shut on Sundays and public holidays. Bargaining is expected almost everywhere; the opening price is a starting point rather than a figure.
From Hotel Sultania it is a walk of about twelve minutes.