40 Best Places to Shop in Istanbul, Turkey

Longtime designer Gönül Paksoy is known for her elegant and stunning women's clothing that reinterprets Ottoman and tribal designs. Her museumlike store shows off beautiful pieces created with vintage textiles, as well as new garments handmade using all-natural fabrics and dyes. There is also a collection of more casual (and less pricey) items including jewelry, bags, shoes, and other accessories, all crafted in Paksoy's characteristic style.

Everything in this homey store near Taksim Square—handbags, necklaces, key chains, baby booties, sachets, cards, natural soaps, bath sets, coasters, ornaments, and more—is handcrafted by women from across Turkey. The NGO that runs the shop, which also has a selection of vintage clothing for sale in the back, helps women in underdeveloped communities find a sustainable source of income through their handiwork. Profits support centers for women and children around the country.

One of Istanbul's most highly regarded antiques stores is filled with a fascinating collection of metalwork, original İznik and Kütahya ceramics, old maps and prints, calligraphy and miniatures, textiles, vintage jewelry, artwork, and assorted other treasures.

One of Turkey's oldest and most elegant fashion houses, Vakko carries its own lines as well as clothing, shoes, and accessories from high-end international labels at its flagship department store in Nişantaşı. The company is particularly well-known for its collection of silk scarves and ties in a variety of traditional and modern designs. It also sells its own signature chocolates. A spin-off "concept store" next door, V2K Designers ( Abdi İpekçi Cad. 31), sells hip men's and women's apparel by international names.

Globe-trotting pair Zeynep and Emre Rende have devoted their design and photography talents to creating home accessories, gifts, furniture, and images “inspired by the world, created in Istanbul.” West African fabrics adorn lamps, pillows are made by local Turkish craftspeople, and Emre’s global portraits feature in framed prints and on iPhone cases.

This delightful boutique sells high-quality towels, tablecloths, throw rugs, and other traditional Turkish home textiles with a simple, modern aesthetic. The immensely appealing and stylish collection also includes luscious, all-natural olive-oil soaps.

One of Istanbul's most reputable carpet dealers espouses a "hassle-free shopping" policy and is favored by the diplomatic community. The company and its friendly staff offer a large selection of antique, semi-antique, and new carpets and kilims, mainly from Anatolia.

Styled more like a grand private mansion than a store, Alaturca has four floors that house a carefully selected—and very high-end—collection of antiques, including artwork, ceramics, metalwork, and Ottoman calligraphy. Just a small fraction of proprietor Erkal Aksoy's extensive collection of antique carpets and kilims is on display here.

Just behind the Blue Mosque, the Arasta Bazaar is a walkway lined with shops selling items similar to those you'll find at the Grand Bazaar (primarily carpets, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, and other handicrafts), at sometimes lower prices. The atmosphere is also considerably calmer, and, unlike the Grand Bazaar, the Arasta is open on Sunday and stays open later (until about 9 pm).

Artrium has a range of antique items, including a fascinating collection of old prints and paintings, as well as some interesting ceramics, jewelry, and other handicrafts and gift items.

Istanbul's version of Bloomingdale's, Beymen has suited doormen and sells expensive, up-to-date fashions from well-known international brands and designers in its multistory flagship department store. The two underground levels house Beymen Blender, a hip store-within-a-store that carries youthful styles of clothing and shoes. The ground-floor Beymen Brasserie is a popular see-and-be-seen spot for lunch or an afternoon coffee.

Design brand Dhoku stands out among the traditional carpet merchants of the Grand Bazaar for its radically different, contemporary styles, which include bold geometric designs and stylized floral patterns. The high-quality rugs are handmade near İzmir using organic handspun wool and natural dyes. Directly across the street is sister company Ethnicon ( Takkeciler Cad. 49–51), which pieces together different-sized squares of colorful rug material to create carpets reminiscent of American-style quilts. Both stores offer fixed prices; at Dhoku, pricing is by the square meter.

If you're looking for books about Turkey, this is the place to visit. The two Galeri Kayseri shops (the storefronts simply say "Bookshop") are across the street from one another, and between them you'll find an outstanding collection of nonfiction books about Turkey in a variety of subject areas, as well as a selection of Turkish and Turkey-related novels and elegant coffee-table books on Islamic art, architecture, and culture. Number 58 is the main store, No. 11 is across the street.

The collection at Gallery Aydın includes high-end antique Turkish, Persian, Georgian, and Caucasian carpets dating from as early as the 16th century. Dealer Adnan Aydın seriously knows his rugs and also specializes in repairing and restoring antique pieces.

The Grand Bazaar is a neighborhood unto itself and a trove of all things Turkish—carpets, brass, copper, jewelry, textiles, and leather products. Many of the stores have resorted to selling cheap goods aimed at the tourist market, but the bazaar still holds many treasures.

Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir founded his sweets business back in 1777 and is considered the inventor of Turkish delight. Today, the Hacı Bekir stores run by his descendants are still among the best places to buy the delicacy, which comes in a variety of different types—including such uncommon flavors as pomegranate with pistachios—and is sold fresh by the kilo or prepackaged. The original location is in Eminönü, on a backstreet just east of the Yeni Cami, and there is also a branch on İstiklal Caddesi.

In the back wing of the Spice Bazaar, Hayfene (previously known as Ucuzcular Baharat) not only has great prices, but it's also just about the friendliest and most hassle-free shop in the bazaar. It's run by the energetic Bilge Kadıoğlu, a U.S.–educated, fifth-generation spice purveyor who is the bazaar's first (and still only) female shop owner. Kadıoğlu prides herself on the shop's extremely fresh spices and specially prepared mixes—which she is happy to have you taste—as well as pure, alcohol-free essential oils and a variety of Turkish sweets.

Walking into this shop feels like walking into a sleek apothecary, with wooden shelves lined with bottles and porcelain. The fragrant essential oils, soaps, creams, and more sold here are made by hand, using all-natural ingredients and a mortar and pestle. There are two other branches in Kuzguncuk and Kanyon Mall.

One of Istanbul's best bookstores carries an impeccable selection of English-language books, especially ones dealing with the politics and history of Turkey and the Middle East.

There are piles and piles of antique rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings from Central Asia at Horasan, as well as walls covered in strands of colorful beads made out of precious and semiprecious stones from which the staff will help you create your own jewelry. Prices are fair.

With two shops in the Grand Bazaar, İgüs offers one of the widest selections of scarves and pashminas found anywhere in Turkey, along with reasonable prices.

The flagship showroom of the İznik Foundation, dedicated to reviving and preserving the classic art of İznik ceramic and tile work, is in the upscale suburb of Etiler. Operating as a kind of design studio for İznik tiles, the foundation has lately worked mainly on large-scale institutional projects—ranging from metro stations and mosques in Istanbul to Hermès window displays in Paris—but also design tiles for private clients, and some individual pieces are for sale as well. Prices are high, but the quality is outstanding.

If you are looking for handwoven pestamels (thin, flat-woven towels), blankets, bedpsreads, curtains, or upholstery material, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better source than this inviting shop in the Arasta Bazaar behind the Blue Mosque. There's a larger showroom nearby ( Ogul Sok. No: 20).

This store specializes in hand-worked copper and brass pieces, both old and new. It's also full of stylish lanterns in traditional Middle Eastern and contemporary styles.

On a backstreet just outside the western entrance of the Spice Market is the tiny flagship store of Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, Turkey's oldest coffee producer (founded 1871), whose finely ground coffee—which can be seen being ground on the premises—is legendary. You can buy whole-bean or ground coffee, which makes a good souvenir of a trip to Turkey.

Turkey's homegrown jeans company, Mavi (which means "blue" in Turkish), has come a long way since its founding in 1991, with stores now in dozens of countries. The flagship Istanbul store near the top of İstiklal Caddesi (there are two other, smaller, branches farther down the avenue) carries the brand's signature jeans and casual wear, as well as a collection of hip Istanbul-themed T-shirts created by different guest designers.

You can find carved meerschaum pipes in many shops in the Grand Bazaar, as well as in many antique shops, but the collection here is extensive. The shop, founded by Bilal Donmez, is now run by his son, Bulent Donmez, and has a very helpful staff and reliably good wares, including other high-quality handicrafts.

On a side street off İstiklal Caddesi, Mor displays the work of a brother-and-sister team who incorporate antique and ethnic elements into their bold, modern jewelry designs. The chunky pieces, mostly made using bronze and stones, are affordably priced.