Egyptian Bazaar
The mysterious Orient as pictured in western eyes
over the centuries is in many ways epitomised by the Misir Çarşisi -
Egyptian Bazaar - in Istanbul. To this market came the spices of the Far
East, and for centuries people came here to purchase a thousand and one
ingredients in hope of curing their medical complaints. These associations
from the past still linger in the bazaasa exotic image.Ever since it was
built, visitors both local and foreign to Istanbul have sought out the
Egyptian Bazaar. Although at first sight the building might seem typical
of classical Ottoman bazaars, its plan and structure distinguish it from
others in Istanbul, Edirne and Bursa. Each of the arched eyvans,
originally open at the front, along the covered street of the bazaar was
occupied by a shop, and behind each was a room twice the size of the
eyvan. The jars of spices and pharmaceutical drugs were displayed in the
eyvan at the front where the customers were served. The rear room,
meanwhile, was used for storage and for making up prescriptions. Today,
however, the shops have been altered so that the eyvans are enclosed.
The L-shaped bazaar has two large main gates and four
smaller, and is built of stone and brick, rather than timber like other
bazaars of the period. At the corner where the two arms meet is a prayer
dome and a place from which the call to prayer was chanted. The main
entrances at the extremities of the two arms are in the form of two-storey
portals with six-arch colonnades. These portals once housed two commercial
courts, one to settle disagreements between tradesmen, and the other
between tradesmen and customers. The Egyptian Bazaar is part of the
complex of Yeni Mosque, construction of which began during the reign of
Mehmed III (1595-1603) and was completed in 1663 by the architect Mustafa
Ağa for Hatice Turhan Sultan, mother of Mehmed IV (1648-1687). It was
therefore originally known as the Yeni Bazaar or Valide Bazaar, valide
meaning mother. Since the spices and drugs sold in the bazaar arrived by
ships from Egypt which unloaded their cargos nearby, in time it came to be
known as the Egyptian Bazaar. In the early years the Egyptian Bazaar was
occupied by shops selling cotton as well as pharmaceuticals. It is one of
the loveliest classical style bazaars in Istanbul, and its L shape is
typical of the arasta type of bazaar consisting of rows of shops devoted
to the same trade. The six gates of the Egyptian Bazaar are the main Eminönü
Gate, Balikpazari (formerly Tahmis) Gate, Ketenciler Gate, Çiçekpazari
Gate, Yeni Cami Gate
and Bahçe (formerly Haseki) Gate.
Edmondo d'Amicis, who visited Istanbul during the
reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) described the Egyptian Bazaar in
the following words: 'Entering this, we are immediately assailed by an
odour so powerful as to fairly knock one down: this is the Egyptian
Bazaar, where are deposited all the wares of India, Syria, Egypt, and
Arabia,which later on, converted into essences, pastilles, powders and
ointments, serve to colour little hands and faces, perfume apartments and
baths and breaths and beards, reinvigorate worn-out pashas, and dull the
senses of unhappy married people.' The pharmacists trained as apprentices
and having risen to the rank of master opened their own shops.They not
only sold medicinal herbs, but also served as folk doctors who prescribed
cures for their customers' complaints.
Their myriad store of ingredients included dried
flowers, leaves, stems, seeds, tree bark and roots, among them many still
commonly used for culinary purposes and home remedies today, such as sage,
rosemary, morning glory, hemp, marsh mallow, thyme, momordica, violet,
lemon balm, basil, summer savory, nettle, and mahaleb. The pharmacists
were at the same time perfumers, who prepared fragrant essences. Today
there are just nine shops selling herbs and spices in the bazaar, the
others selling such a wide range of goods as jewellery, furniture, meat,
dried nuts and fruits, haberdashery, baskets, perfumes, and confectionery.
The dried fruit and nut shops are almost as fascinating as the spice
shops, with their tempting range of pistachio nuts, almonds, hazelnuts,
dried figs, dried peaches, raisins, coconut and many others. There are
also grocery shops selling many varieties of jam - such as quince, sour
cherry, apricot, strawberry and fig, delicious cheeses, preserved meats
and sausages, and different kinds of honey.
On the upper floor of the portal at the south gate is
a famous restaurant, Pandeli, which has been serving Turkish cuisine here
for a hundred years. On the walls are proudly displayed newspaper cuttings
about the restaur'stge famous guests, including Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who
came to eat here both during Ottoman times and after the founding of the
Turkish Republic in 1923. Other celebrated patrons of Pandeli were the
poet Yahya Kemal Beyatli and novelist Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar.
There are also small shops along the outer walls of
the Egyptian Bazaar, fishmongers to the north and pet shops and flower
shops to the south. So although the character of the Egyptian Bazaar has
changed since Ottoman times, the variety of goods to be found here make it
if anything more colourful than it was.
Abdullah Kiliç is a journalist
Source: Sky life 12/2000
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