What to Buy in Grand Bazaar, Istanbul Turkey

Grand Bazaar is a vast area located in Istanbul Tukey that sells food, souvenir items, famous iznik ceramics and rags. They say products here are cheap but I found the souvenir shops on the street near Sultanahmet is cheaper. However, you need to haggle so that  you can save more money in buying different items. Also, what I like about it is the overwhelming number of choices.

Here are one of the the great choices of souvenirs in Grand Bazaar:

1. KAFTAN TOWEL. It is a usual towel but is larger and great for people who loves to collect  unique towels with different texture. Turkey is known for great quality textiles so it can be great souvenirs for beach lovers like me.
Price: 20 liras

2. SOAPS. I bought different kinds of soap such as olive oil, pomegranate and honey. Olive oil is abundant in Turkey because it is a common  salad dressing. Therefore, they made it into lovely soaps. Olive oil is known to make your skin moist with its anti-aging properties Therefore, it is great for your face and body.  However, apply it in one area of your body before applying it all over your face for any allergic reactions you may encounter.You can also buy soaps in cute canisters but these usually have only one kind, which is the olive oil. If you fancy giving different types of soaps, then you can buy it in a pouch.
Price: Soaps in canisters cost 5 liras each but you can haggle for 5 pieces for 20 liras (4 each).  Same price falls for soaps not placed in a canister (5 liras), but you can haggle as I've said.

Pomegranate (L). Olive oil with lavender scent (R)

3. COASTERS. I love iznik art in Turkey because of its unique and intricate designs. It is also a part of their history. When I visited several tourist spots,  iznik art is a popular work piece and it started during the Ottoman empire.
Price: I bought 6 pieces, each for 1.50 liras

4. HONEY. Honey is the only food that does not spoil because of its all natural chemical components. The one that I bought contains honeycomb that seems to be more authentic than the other honey products that I have seen.
Price: 20 liras around 250 grams
5. T-SHIRT. There are a lot of choices of shirts in the Grand Bazaar; from an image of Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia or a simple Turkey embedded on the center. I opted to buy a simple shirt.
Price: 20 liras each

6. BRACELETS. They have different bracelet designs but the most common is the evil eye. In Turkey, wearing anything with evil eye or placing it in your house is a sign of protection against bad luck. 

Price: I forgot the price but I believe it is less than 5 liras.