Istanbul Shopping by Cynthia Rosenfeld
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“I found these sparkling stones on our family trip to Jaipur,” says 29-year-old Istanbulite Ayca Sadikoglu. The gems adorn a pair of stylish bikinis that Ayca created for herself and her twin sister, Zeynep, three years ago, serendipitously launching their careers as swimsuit designers in the process.
“We started wearing them, and our friends kept asking us to make more,” Ayca tells me as I admire her latest collection — tiny bits of embellished Italian fabric strewn around her studio in an exclusive Istanbul neighbourhood.
“We got very lucky,” continues Zeynep, who gave up a film production career in New York City to return home and launch Open Your Eyes (Inönü Caddesi 35/2, Taksim) the sisters’ provocative brand of bikinis and monokinis.
“The wife of the owner of Beymen [Istanbul’s top department store] saw our first season of bikinis and bought that whole collection!” says Zeynep.
To keep up with demand, the blonde duo now source their gemstones closer to home, choosing to forage amid the piles of jewels in Eminönü. This bustling, Ottoman-era shopping district is home to Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar — places that the twins describe as suffocatingly hot and crowded. It’s a world away from the elegant hilltop atelier where I sit with them now, discussing my impending Turkish shopping spree.
The Sadikoglu sisters have just finished a photo shoot for a local fashion magazine and treat me to the service that comes with being an OYE private client. First, there’s an analysis of my physique and debate over which style of swimsuit will best fit my curves. There will then be a second fitting, I’m told, and I’ll need to return in a week — the time it takes to craft one of these bespoke items.
In between measurements, I make the most of the twins’ retail expertise, probing them for tips on Istanbul’s best-kept shopping secrets.
“You should bargain for everything in Istanbul,” says Zeynep, while Ayca admits that even she gets ripped off at the Grand Bazaar.
After a lengthy, animated conversation that includes hand-drawn maps and recommendations for where to refuel en route, I head off with Zeynep. She has kindly offered to guide me through two of her favorite areas, Nisantasi — notable for its Art Nouveau apartments and big-brand boutiques—and the recently restored Akaretler district.
We begin the buying at Beymen (Adbi Ipekçi Caddesi 23/1) in the heart of Nisantasi, an intimate, tree-lined neighbourhood on the European side of the Bosporus. Over its four floors, stylish shoppers finger ostrich-leather handbags while bow-tied waiters deliver sparkling water to shoe shoppers. The latest looks from Prada, Bulgari, and Bottega Veneta are all on display, alongside — rather fittingly — Alan Greenspan’s treatise on the economy, The Age of Turbulence.
We move on to Urart (Adbi Ipekçi Caddesi), filled with modern gold jewellery inspired by ancient Turkish designs. I drool over a black agate ring covered with diamond-studded flowers, which I can no more afford than the wooden ring carved in the shape of an elephant head with sapphire eyes and pink-diamond ears.
Far more reasonably priced are the ruffled-silk blouses and jersey separates by local designers at Machka (Adbi Ipekçi Caddesi 29), across the street. In the same building is Zeynep’s favourite boutique, V2K, filled with wares from international brands like Lagerfeld and Vera Wang as well as frocks that look like they’ve come straight from the set of Sex and the City.
We turn the corner to get to the boutique of Arzu Kaprol (Adbi Ipekçi Caddesi Atiye Sokak 53/2), a Turkish designer famed for her striking jewel-toned evening gowns with attitude. While I’m admiring a black-feather evening bag, I overhear another customer call out to her friend from the dressing room: “I can never have enough from here!”
Next on the agenda is Gönül Paksoy (Atiye Sokak 6/A), filled with Ottoman-inspired textiles refashioned as skirts and jackets. We venture deeper into this Aladdin’s cave to discover hand-woven cotton sweaters, brocade shoes, and a particularly memorable wrist cuff woven with antique gold thread.
After a short taxi ride, we find ourselves in Akaretler, a recently gentrified precinct of row houses constructed in the 1870s by Sultan Abdülaziz to accommodate the labourers working on his Dolmabahce Palace. The meticulously restored buildings now boast stylish tenants, including the newly opened W Istanbul (22 Suleyman Seba Caddesi), where I am one of the first guests.
The hotel is surrounded by global brand boutiques, which I skip, heading straight for Haremlique (Sair Nedim Bey Caddesi 11) —a home furnishings shop that takes its name from the private quarters of Istanbul’s bygone harem ladies.
Zeynep orders Turkish coffee flavoured with mastika, a local liqueur, while I dream about redecorating my bedroom with the saffron-and-indigo ikat pillowcases. I manage a few sips of the strong brew while stocking up on grapefruit and green tea–scented candles.
I hit the streets again the next morning, this time in the company of LUXE City Guide’s Istanbul editor, Katerina Katopis. Our first stop is at Abdulla Natural Products (Ali Baba Türbesi Sokak 25/27, Nuruosmaniye), where I pick up buffalo-horn combs and soft, naturally-dyed Turkish towels.
I’ve been looking forward to our next destination, the Grand Bazaar, where, Katerina promises, I will be able to peruse an endless array of treasures and jewels. We forge past groups of anxious-looking tourists and head toward Nuruosmaniye Gate, the bazaar’s main entrance. Rows of stalls hug the narrow lanes, all overflowing with glitzy souvenirs; Katerina tells me that there are more than 100 gem-sellers in this ancient mall.
We head straight to Kafkas Fine Jewelry (4–6 Kalpakçilar Caddesi), which also comes recommended by Ayca and Zeynep for its reasonably priced diamonds, and continue on to Egin Tekstil (Yaglikçilar Caddesi 50), a closet-sized stall opened 147 years ago and kept in the family ever since. It stocks waffle weave blankets and Turkish towels dyed according to the regnorth, planning to use it as a sarong on my next beach holiday.
Even world-class shoppers wilt at some stage or another, and after a couple of hours inside the bazaar, Katerina suggests that we recharge with a plate of Turkish meze at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet (Tevkifhane Sokak 1), a former prison that’s been transformed into a five-star hotel. It’s just a 10-minute walk from the Grand Bazaar, past Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. On the Four Season’s rooftop deck we devour hummus and pita washed down with sweet apple tea.
Katerina knows better than to let me ogle the shiny jewellery showcased in the hotel’s lobby vitrines. Instead, she whisks me back across town to the source. Sevan Biçakçi (Sair Nedim Bey Caddesi 3) made a name for himself crafting Byzantine-inspired cuff links and men’s jewellery, but he’s since branched out into ornate designs for women.
We gaze at the chunky, jewel-encrusted rings carved with mosques and Madonnas, but both conclude that as beautiful as these works of art are, we’d never be able to wear them. More versatile, though no less breathtaking, is the diamond, ruby, and sapphire ring resembling an enchanted forest of dragonflies that the salesman slips onto Katerina’s finger. For a moment, we’re silenced by its beauty.
Informed of the considerable price, I thank the salesman and try to ease the ring off my friend’s finger. Not so keen to part ways with the gem, she begins tapping on her Blackberry with her other hand, texting a certain someone, who just might be able to make her shiny Turkish shopping dream come true.
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