From the Bosphorus, Istanbul is a shimmering skyline of towering walls, grand palaces, and intricate minarets that still retains much of the allure of its famous culture and beauty. It is still as awe-inspiring now as it was for Russian envoys in the tenth century or Austrian ambassadors in the sixteenth. On the ground, however, it is a rapidly changing city. The old Ottoman caravansaries, the hans, are almost all gone, replaced by new glass stores and hotels. The Divan Yolu, once the monument lined central street of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, is now a line of stores and restaurants. Even the Hagia Sophia, once the greatest church on earth is now overrun by hordes of tourists and is replete with modern gift shops and cafes. But one part of the old city has really maintained that feeling of old Turkey. Between the ever more expensive and less unique Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaaar (also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, the Mısır Çarşısı) lies the inner heart of the neighborhood of Eminönü. In this twisted knot of streets lay the true markets of old Istanbul, complete with everything…
