Gaziantep Bazaar

The trading rows at the foot of the citadel — a chain of covered arcades, hans and bedestens, the oldest of them dating from the sixteenth century. The main distinguishing feature are the domes with a dense scattering of round openings: light falls from above in patches, while hot air escapes upwards, and it stays cool under the vaults. The rows are divided by craft, and what goes on here is still production: coppersmiths beat out trays, masters of mother-of-pearl inlay are at work, and a separate row is occupied by leatherworkers. Gaziantep is considered the gastronomic capital of Turkey and has been included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for this, so a large section of the bazaar is given over to spices, nuts and dried vegetables — strings of peppers and aubergines hang from the ceiling in whole columns. The pistachio from here goes into the baklava the city is famous for, and sweet shops stand along the entire main gallery.

Address

Karagöz Caddesi, Gaziantep

On the map