Grand Bazaar

One of the world's oldest and largest covered markets — a labyrinth of 61 vaulted streets and more than 4,000 shops.

The Grand Bazaar was founded in 1461, just eight years after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, when Sultan Mehmed II ordered the construction of an inner bedesten to secure the city's most precious goods. Over the following centuries a vast covered city grew around it — 61 streets, 22 gates, mosques, fountains, workshops and caravanserais all connected under one continuous roof. For 500 years it has been a stage for spices, silks, hand-woven carpets, gold, gemstones and lantern light. Today around 400,000 visitors walk its passages every day.