Istanbul Part 1: Shopping at Spice Bazaar

Assalamualaikum w.b.t.

I am still recovering from my Balkan trip. A week in, my body is still confused. My brain says “Home” but my sleep schedule says “Turkey, Greece and everywhere.” That 6–7 hour time difference is real, phew!

Alhamdulillah, 10 days to 6 countries. Turkiye, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Greece. My legs deserve their own medal although I nicely gained 3 kilo bila sampai Malaysia! 😓

In this post, I am writing about Istanbul, our last stop before flying back home. The final chapter of the adventure, the kind of where you nak tahan masa from passing by.

We reached Istanbul on a Friday night, January 23, 2026, from Kavala and stayed at Hotel Golden Way Giyimkent. The plan for the next day, based on the iti was to walk all over Sultanahmet. 

But we were warned that the weather akan drizzles + light rain. Not exactly welcoming, but sepanjang jalan tu cuacanya sangat cosy and nice, Alhamdulillah. Tak rasa macam winter walaupun tengah peak, rather sweet autumn feels gitu.

We braved the rain with my tiny pocket Singapore Airlines' batik-printed umbrella, that I purchased during my work trip in Singapore. Walaupun awalnya tu hesitate to bawak sebab luggage I dah sendat padat, but thankfully last-last tu bawak jugak, otherwise boleh moody ye!

The whole group nak singgah Spice Bazaar because everyone says it is cheaper than Grand Bazaar, so we headed off there. I am not a shopaholic, but I like bringing something home. Kalau dulu, rasa macam tak lengkap kalau tak shopping like no others, tapi bila dah travelled to a few countries, I preferred to get something useful.

Walking into Spice Bazaar was like entering a smiling universe. Sellers on both sides, calling out “Merhaba!” Trying to tempt us.

The hallway of the bazaar was narrow, crowded pastu masa di hujung hallway tu bermula lah cobblestones twisting everywhere. Leg day macam pergi gym.

So many things to look at around the bazaar. Lamps, scarves, jackets, trinkets, jewelry. I grabbed a few fridge magnets (old habits die hard), some pouches and then got stopped by a seller offering pomegranate tea. Hujan-hujan renyai tu dapat teh panas pulak.

“Merhaba!” he said again with a big smile.

One sip of tea and I was sold. Smooth, fragrant, dramatic. I gave him some Liras, which I rasa mahal jugak but thank to my dummy Arabic language skill, dapat discount. 

Then I bought a pack of baklava. Too sweet.

Overall, Istanbul totally unforgettable and 100% repeatable!