Tag Archives: Istanbul

A guide to successful bargaining in Istanbul

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Michael

Pazarlik – bargaining (or haggling, for you followers of Brian) - is a skill, a social activity, and a decent tool to help you get a great deal on anything from carpets to cardamom. We don’t see much of it in the west, and as a result we can be poorly prepared to handle the tradesmen when we venture beyond our frontiers.

However, bargaining needn’t be a chore or a tribulation. If you follow some basic tips and principles of etiquette, bargaining in Istanbul can be as pleasantly an authentic experience as listening to the morning Ezan (Adhan) ring out from the mouth of the muezzin, or as puffing on a shisha in a traditional bar in the city’s old centre.

Here’s an intro to bargaining in Istanbul, which can be most thoroughly enjoyed in the Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı) and Egyptian Bazaar (Misir Carsisi), but is also useful in many of the city’s shops. Happy bargain-hunting.

Posted in Tips | Tagged Informative, Istanbul, market, Shopping Guide | Leave a comment

15 Top UNESCO sites in Europe

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Michael

Europe might be full of foreigners, small hotel rooms and questionable border security, but one thing it really does have going for it is the depth and breadth of history throughout the continent. Like tropical rainforest is for plant and animal species, Europe is an area of immense cultural richness.

What follows is an introduction to UNESCO-listed attractions in Europe. In this post I’ll concentrate on the most famous ones. However, it’s definitely worth looking beyond the obvious to uncover less well-known destinations.

Let’s move from west to east, so it will feel a bit like we’re travelling forward in time.