You can easily while away a couple of hours in Avrupa Pasaji, an elegant French-style ‘passage’, or shopping arcade, off Mesrutiyet Caddesi in Beyoglu, Istanbul’s downtown shopping district. While Avrupa is a lovely sight in itself – with its skylights and old lamps – its full of wonderful stores selling antiques and collectibles, old coins and stamps, movie posters and postcards, watches and antique jewellery, miniature paintings, and Ottoman objects of art.
There are also a number of stores selling Turkish handicrafts, hippy gear and incense, brass trays and lamps, and Izmir pottery. The added bonus is that there are none of the annoying spruikers that hassle you in the Grand Bazaar. The tranquil arcade may not get the stream of tourists that the Bazaar does, but the storekeepers here seem to like it that way. This is a place for serious collectors and people who appreciate beautiful things. Browsing is encouraged because these guys know that the longer you look the more unlikely you’ll be able to resist buying something special.