Spoils of War!

Yesterday we went to the Grand Bazaar finally! The shopping experience of a lifetime. It is an indoor football stadium sized maze of shops selling everything you have ever dreamed of. Each shop specializing in one item ranging from antique pocket watches to rugs to jewelry to Turkish coffee to local art work to plates to hookahs to anything and everything! And there are so many shops side by side selling the same type of stuff that the store keepers have to be very attendant to everyone who passes by. You don't go one minute without someone hollering at you to "spend your money here" or encouraging you that their products are "almost free" with an endearing "yes please" and "hello beautiful" every now and then. I am pretty sure they have memorized these sayings in almost every language so that not one potential customer is overlooked. Word around the block is that prices here are a little higher than shops in other areas of Istanbul because it is a big tourist attraction but its worth it for the experience. It is very important to bargain because the first price offered when inquiring "bu ne kadar?" (Turkish for "how much is this?") is always exorbitantly expensive. But with a little eyelash batting and scare tactics they will come down to a nice compromised price. I snagged a leather bound book of blank pages with an emblem of the evil eye, a wall hanging jeweled evil eye, and a shiny red&blue Turkish made bed cover.