Buying Spices in Istanbul's Egyptian Bazaar

fx

Sat, 19 Mar 2016 04:55:50 GMT

Sorry no, I just write about food. Good luck!

fx

Thu, 3 Mar 2016 12:30:46 GMT

Indeed carthamus tinctorius it is! Thanks this is a very useful information. Most people do not go beyond "this is not the real saffron" but now thanks to you I know too.

farshid gholamrezanezhad

Tue, 5 Feb 2013 21:43:16 GMT

Dear sir,
I have the iranian saffron with the best quality and I search for selling it in turkey, It is good you know my saffron is our corp in Iran.
Can you guide me for selling it?

Safflower

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 22:46:07 GMT

I have to comment on the fake saffron. This is safflower and is often used in middle eastern cooking, it is common in north Africa where I am most familiar with the cuisine. Everyone there knows that it is not real saffron. Most people never use saffron because it is so expensive. If you see it in a common recipe most likely they are using safflower. You need more than a "pinch" of safflower and gives a subtle taste. We use it in soups, couscous and tagine mostly.

Houbcobia

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 18:00:12 GMT

Some posts are just mean"t to be commented on, this is one. Thank you for an exceptional read, so challenging to locate nowadays.
I read about a hundred blog posts a week and i tend to only comment on a few of them, this is one of them.
Lovely work, despite the fact that i have been lurking around for awhile i have not got around to commenting til now. cheers
If i gave a dollar for the quantity of great articles you"ve written you"d be rich. Just thought i would let you know how grateful i am.
Fantastic post and it"s definitly worth a comment from me. You"ve got earned a loyal fan.

Astrid Royo

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:41:31 GMT

Hello! I need your help!!! I need to cantact some one from the spice Barzar, I buyed te rose buds, I would like to buy more. Is there any store that can send 5 kilos to spain? Please let me now if there is some one that make this service.
Great page, congratulatios.
Astrid

Nana Akd

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:22:20 GMT

Its awesome to come across such wonderful sights around the world. Thank God for doing all things well. I love to see places of interest of which Egypt is one of those countries

Farzad

Sat, 1 May 2010 18:28:46 GMT

thanks fx,it was a nice article with nice pics,the bazaar was well explained and the notification about the spice was very useful,good luck...

Stavros

Thu, 1 Apr 2010 23:41:44 GMT

Concerning the Gum Arabic.
It is also refered to as "mastiha" and it is the resin of a specific tree that only grows in the Greek island of Chios.

It is so common in Eastern desserts (and not only) because when Greece was under the Ottoman occupation the Sultans payed special attention to the gum, for their personal delight as well as for trading purposes.

Modern gum-processing factories use it to flavor almost anything, from liquers (makes sense) to tomato sauce (overkill?). Anyway, it is considered to be very healthy and it is a very interesting ingredient to experiment with.

Fasulye

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 16:21:40 GMT

I see form your report that Istanbul offers a paradise of fresh spices and herbs. where I live buying fresh herbs is very limited, even on markets. People with an own herb garden are privileged. I think Turkey has a different culture using more fresh ingredients than are available here in Germany.
Fasulye

fx

Wed, 2 Sep 2009 10:54:10 GMT

Indeed it does.

cutavasanjobo

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:30:44 GMT

Hello. Great website, but just like mine it needs updating.
fxcuisine.com � Super! By.

brian

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 20:05:27 GMT

Hi, i would like to know how long this bazaar is opened daily, i habe to work in Istanbul and i would like to go there after work, what dou you think, does anybody know this??

thanks, Brian

Sherrine

Wed, 20 May 2009 18:59:47 GMT

I would like to know how to ship spices and seasonings back to USA and how much can I bring home with me?

fx

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:31:41 GMT

Janine, I revisited that market this year and I think the most exceptional spices they sell are the foot-long cinammon sticks and pure vanilla crystals bags. Your friend will need to look for those though, but they are worth it as I use them every week!

Janine

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:52:06 GMT

I have just begun exploring spices in cooking--I really am a beginner, but I love making my own spice mixes, starting with whole spices, toasting, grinding, etc. Some friends of mine are going to Istanbul in a couple of weeks and want to get me something at the spice market there--do you have a couple of suggestions for spices they can buy whole for me that would be of good use in meals (as opposed to candy or desserts)and would push my horizon a little without being completely impractical?

fx

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:21:59 GMT

Thanks for the precise historical details, indeed the Mosque is very big and just next to the market, one cannot shop there without admiring it!

Fraigo

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 06:28:34 GMT

Constructed in 1663 as a part of the adjacent Yeni Mosque complex in order to generate funds for the upkeep of the mosque. Misir in Turkish means "Egypt" and it is called The Egyptian Bazaar due to the fact that the spices came from India and South-East Asia to Egypt and from there to Istanbul via the Mediterranean Sea.

Thanks for sharing with us this wonderful experience

Steven Athanas

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:42:38 GMT

Hi I am looking for a reasonable source for saffron and gunluk resin (turkish styrax officinalis) have any ideas?

ANGELINA

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:20:07 GMT

If Disneyland is for kids, FXcuisine is for adults!Thank you for this amazing site.I"m dizzy!

fx

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:25:17 GMT

Andrea, it"s a great market, but would you know of other places like this or just of interest to the discerning foodie in Istanbul?

Andrea Kirkby

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:53:22 GMT

Absolutely right, you have found the best market outside the tourist one; coffee roasters, spices, and cookware. One of my favourite souvenirs of Istanbul is a set of lovely olivewood spatulas, costing about 50 euro cents each, that we bought near Rustempasha mosque - I oiled them gently when we got home and they are still looking splendid after six months" hard use. You can even buy paddles for the pide (pizza) ovens, though they are a bit hard to smuggle on to the plane!

Street food in Istanbul is great - I don"t know if you saw the vendors carrying huge piles of simit (sesame bread) on their heads, or the itinerant borek vendors? All to be washed down with a glass of tea, naturally. We also found roasted chestnuts on sale in April - not a gourmet meal but absolutely delicious on a crisp morning.

fx

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:00:12 GMT

Tina, you are now like most people in the world - not enough caviar! I am not sure how well caviar withstands air mail. Perhaps grow your own sturgeon in your spare bathtub?

Tina

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:52:01 GMT

I just recently returned from a trip to Istanbul. I bought some beluga caviar but not enough (two 4 ounce containers) as I was afraid I could not get through customs. I was able to bring it home and would like to purchase some more. Can you tell me how I can obtain some more? Thanks.

arda

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:03 GMT

Hi, i have just returned from Istanbul and regret that although I bought many things at the spice bazaar that I didn"t buy one of the small wooden boxes with the containers of various spices. Is it possible to have a contact for buying several of these from Melbourne Australa?

Many thanks
Arda

fx

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:40:27 GMT

Elsie, they must have a swimming pool filled with rose water in this bazaar, it"s a very common ingredient. Now rose water is distilled rose, not an oil, perhaps you mean something else.

elsie leung

Thu, 5 Jun 2008 10:31:05 GMT

Hi there,
Thank you for all info on your web? Have you come acoss any rose essential oil in spice bazzar as I planned to buy it from my last trip , but I was too rush to find it. If not available there, should I go to drug store for that? Pls advise.
Thanks,
elsie

fx

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:01:02 GMT

Yashavanth, just spend some time checking the shops in the Egyptian Bazaar and you"ll see the nuts and figs you like best. Have a good trip!

yashavanth

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:57:27 GMT

I will be visiting turkey by end of this month. Iwill be eager to know more about bying the nuts and dry figs from the spice bazaar. Please advise good shop to buy from.

fx

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 15:06:29 GMT

Utkun, thanks a lot for your message! I would very much like of where are the best kebabs and lokums in Istanbul. Would you have any addresses for me? Are there other markets where more authentic Turkish food and ingredients could be seen?

Utkun

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 11:34:24 GMT

Hi,
First of all I want to say, I can"t stop reading your wonderful blog. Everything is so nice about it. Thanks for it. I"m very happy, you visited Turkey and Istanbul. I am a resident Istanbul and I must agree with all you have written here about the bazaar, shops, desserts etc. I must say you are a very good observer but I want to add some more to your observations just to help people who thinks of visiting Turkey.
Turkey has a nice kitchen which have the origins from Ottoman Empire. Some of them, became popular like Turkish delight (actually it"s called "lokum" in Turkish), kebabs, doners etc. When they became popular, tourist hunters tried to make them or some people tried to make them cheap and sell them in streets. So the real and good ones became very hard to find in even Turkey. Only Turkish people can tell you where to eat kebab or get lokum. For example you can"t find any eatable lokum in Istanbul because it"s made in another city called "Afyon". You can only find good kebabs in %5 restaurants in Istanbul because it"s made in another city again "Adana". So Istanbul seems to be a good place to find anything you want but it"s not a good place for quality stuff. You need to learn the exact place of it in Istanbul. But your choices were great, nuts were very fine in that Bazaar and maybe some spices.
And one last thing for the Turkish viagra. I really hate these names, Turkish delight, Turkish viagra etc. These are just for tourists. The real name for viagra thing is, "mesir". Mesir is made from 41 kinds of spices. It has a very unique, wonderful taste and as you may guess you can rarely find the quality one in Istanbul. Hope you visit Turkey again, I"ll show you where to get the quality ones next time. :)

fx

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:13:12 GMT

Cheryl thanks for your kind words, I hope you get to visit this amazing Spice Bazaar!

cheryl S.

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:20:59 GMT

If Disneyland is for kids, FXcuisine is for adults!Thank you for this amazing site.I"m dizzy!

sunay

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:09:24 GMT

Este vederea din istanbul

dermengi

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 13:09:22 GMT

I like very much Istanbul.is a best place for shopping. For any turist Istanbul is a paradise.....many interesting places. Every year I go there.

E

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:23:27 GMT

I would like to know if you have Naboot el Gafir it is a sweet long sugary stick with sasamee. Many thanks for a quick reply.

Kaite

Sun, 7 Oct 2007 16:28:15 GMT

Thanks for all the info. I"m heading to turkey in 2 weeks for a 6 week stay. I hate the thought of buying "the wrong thing" or being taken. Just about everything you can get on line these days. I hope I can find what is hard to find!great web site!

misbah rukhsar

Sun, 2 Sep 2007 06:31:00 GMT

I went to the spice bazaar 10 year ago and also bought some turkish delight for my family, they loved it. I am thinking about going back this year but was wondering what the prices are like now, is it expensive and what is the price per kilo for the turkish delight?Thanks

Audrey

Mon, 14 May 2007 10:49:58 GMT

Dear Sir,Thanks for the above information.I went to Spice Bazaar last week and bought some Turkish delight from a shop. My family loves it but it was not sufficient. I thought of contacting the shop owner in spice bazaar to purchase more goods. If I am not wrong the shop is called "petaspice" or "pataspice" or "patespice). Do you have the contact? If yes, it would be great. Thanks for your help.RgdsAudrey