The bazaar quarter of Istanbul is like a mirror of the city itself: many-faceted and hectic, extraordinarily beautiful and chaotic at the same time. On the historic peninsula, centuries-old market halls, mosques and stores share space with new concrete buildings and street kiosks. Spacious stores with brightly lit window displays compete with tiny cluttered shops in dark alleyways. This is place where the Thousand and One Nights and global chic come together, a meeting place of opposites: traditional craftsmanship and mass production, east and west, past and present, romance and practicality, kitsch and style. This book, brimful of photographs, guides the reader through a colourful world packed with fascinating history and people.