(day 6) Arasta Bazaar

The exit to the mosaic museum dumps you right by Arasta Bazaar. I walked by this place every day going to and from Bahaus, but never really had the inclination to go in, since I'm not planning on buying much. Since I was here though, figured I may as well go in.

At first glance, they seemed to be selling the same stuff I'd seen in all the shops around Sultanahmet. A lot of textiles (carpets, scarves, blankets, pillows).

A couple of shops looked interesting though, I really liked some of these cuffs, but I don't wear jewelry anymore so I didn't bother going in. Maybe later in the week when it's rainy.

A nargile (hookah) cafe cleaning all of their hookahs.

Thanks to my superpower of never having to go to the bathroom, I haven't had to deal with public bathrooms yet. I've heard that many public facilities have squatter toilets (NOPE NOT DOING THAT!), and are poorly serviced, and that it might be a safer bet to use the pay-to-enter bathrooms.

So just FYI if you are in Istanbul and you need to pee (or poop, you disgusting filthy animal), here is what they look like! The turnstile industry must really be booming in Istanbul. 

Another common good here are these Turkish lamps. I absolutely love these, they're like little stained glass bulbs. However, I don't think they would really look good just by themselves, I think they look nice when there are bunches of them hanging like this, and of course I can't take all those home. :< If I ever have a house though, and I get to make a "chill" room with big cushions and pillows to lounge on and read or play games, I would definitely install a bunch of these pretty lights. 

Most textiles here are imported from nearby cities, but apparently they are all handmade. I think this is a silk weaving loom. You can see on that short little stool there hundreds of silk cocoons.

Apparently all silk used to come to the Byzantine Empire by trade roads from China, until in the 6th century AD, some monks were able to successfully smuggle out silkworms. After that, the Byzantines had a monopoly on the supply of silk to Europe. $$$$