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Istanbul is a shopper's paradise, with an enormous variety of goods all
at
prices well below what you would pay at home. One of the beauties of
shopping in a foreign country is finding that perfect locally-made artifact
to take home, either as a gift or as a memory of the time you spent
visiting.
Istanbul is a treasure
chest of crafts: wool and silk handmade carpets;
kilims (flat weave rugs); cicims (embroidered rugs); jewellery, including
everything from traditional harem rings to the latest designer settings;
leather goods; copper and brassware; spices; ceramics; even Turkish
musical
instruments, belly dancing costumes, and Ottoman women 's velvet
court-costumes embroidered with silver or gold thread. The choice is
endless.
Istanbul offers
her visitors many different shopping experiences.
First there is the labyrinthine Grand Bazaar, surrounded by many smaller
craft shops. The city also has three major shopping districts, (Beyoglu,
Nisantasi, Baghdad Street), which are lined with exclusive designer
shops.
Mall shopping is
increasing in popularity in Istanbul, with the introduction
of state-of-the-art complexes, gathering many shops together under one
roof.
These shopping centers sell haute couture from international names;
Ralph
Lauren and Moschino are favorites, as well as local exclusive designers.
In the Old City
district, around Aksaray, Beyazit and Laleli, there are many
bargains to be found in leather, jewellery and textiles.
Istanbul offers
a number of first-rate clothing stores, selling off-the-rack
designer wear for a fraction of the price of that in London or New York.
Leather is also a good buy here in Istanbul. Many companies sell beautifully
cut coats, jackets, pants, skirts, purses, shoes, hats and belts in
top
quality leather and suede.
Istiklal Caddesi
of Beyoglu section is a long shopping street, the vividness
of which varies from one place to another and ends in the Nisantasi
section.
As you proceed on this street, prices increase a little, but the quality
gets better, too. This series of streets connected to each other has
the
highest quality and level of ready-to-wear clothing stores in the
Middle-East and the Balkans. All the fashion houses and luxury boutiques
are
also located in these areas. More than half of the apparel items are
manufactured in Istanbul. Therefore, almost all of the exporting is
realized
from there. Major firms closely follow and implement the latest fashion
trends of the world. Furthermore, they introduce their new creations
at the
international level, thus realizing a significant progress also in the
marketing area.
While Beyoglu-Nisantasi
and Osmanbey sections meet the clothing requirements
of intermediate and high income groups, the prices are at an attractive
level for foreigners.
For this reason
it is worth shopping around, and the many different shops in
Istanbul will make this a delight.
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