{"id":28962,"date":"2010-12-14T08:12:39","date_gmt":"2010-12-14T06:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=28962"},"modified":"2023-08-31T13:12:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T10:12:46","slug":"a-facelift-for-istanbuls-aging-bazaar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/12\/14\/a-facelift-for-istanbuls-aging-bazaar\/","title":{"rendered":"A facelift for Istanbul’s aging bazaar?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CNN’s global series i-List takes you to a different country each month. In December, we visit Turkey and look at changes shaping the country’s economy, culture and social fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Istanbul (CNN) — Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, one of the world’s oldest shopping meccas, is facing a dilemma: How to modernize without losing its unique character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bazaar — a huge covered market with 60 streets and some 4,000 shops known for their carpets, jewelry, ceramics, spices and antiques — is in need of restoration, according to shopkeepers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They complain of a leaking roof, bad smells, broken toilets and failing air conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mustafa Demir, the mayor of Istanbul’s Fatih district, said he is planning to spend around $100 million to restore the bazaar and has enlisted a team of surveyors to make sure it’s done properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “We can’t change the shape of the Grand Bazaar. But the Grand Bazaar needs something.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gallery: Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bazaar, or Kapalicarsi in Turkish, is steeped in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important trading center since the 15th century when it was built for Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, it was enlarged during the 16th century for Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Art historian Claire Karaz says the bazaar was formed when Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror made Istanbul the capital of the Ottoman empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: “One of Mehmet’s aims was to bring the populations back to the city that could revive commerce. Who were they? Of course they were Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Jews and Levantines — that means people from Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They would bring their wares here and may even sell to some of the shops located on the lower floor.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bazaar has been restored several times over the centuries after fires or earthquakes. The last time it was repaired was after a fire in the mid-1950s, according to the Istanbul mayor’s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karaz wants to be sure the latest facelift doesn’t alter the bazaar’s character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: “When you’re talking about the actual structure of the Grand Bazaar, let’s hope it doesn’t end up being completely rebuilt in a kind of Disney-ish way.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the bazaar is a giant labyrinth covering 31,000 square meters with 22 gates. It has shops, workshops, inns, cafes, restaurants, fountains, wells, mosques, a school, a police station and a bath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bazaar attracts around 300,000 visitors a day. Some estimates put the combined value of the shops at $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muzaffer Biber, whose family has sold carpets in the bazaar for generations, said: “It is the heart of Istanbul. It is the heart of Turkey. Everyone comes from around the world to visit Turkey and meet the people.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

via A facelift for Istanbul’s aging bazaar? – CNN.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CNN’s global series i-List takes you to a different country each month. In December, we visit Turkey and look at changes shaping the country’s economy, culture and social fabric. Istanbul (CNN) — Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, one of the world’s oldest shopping meccas, is facing a dilemma: How to modernize without losing its unique character. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":28964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[4218],"class_list":["post-28962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","tag-grand-bazaar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}