Category: Commercial
Type: Bazaar, Store
Location: Eminönü, Rüstem Paşa, Fatih
Date: 1660-1664
Designer: Koca Kasım Ağa, Mustafa Ağa
Period: Ottoman Empire
Photos: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (goturkiye.com), Visit Istanbul (visit.istanbul)
The Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar, was commissioned by Turhan Hatice Sultan and completed in 1664 as a crucial endowment for the maintenance of the neighboring New Mosque complex. Historically serving as the final destination for camel caravans traveling the Silk and Spice Routes, the bazaar earned its name from the taxes levied on Egyptian imports that funded its construction. Architecturally, the structure follows a traditional L-shaped plan composed of two intersecting wings, featuring high lead-covered domes and robust masonry of stone and brick. This vaulted arcade, designed by the imperial architect Mustafa Ağa, houses nearly one hundred shops and remains a quintessential example of Ottoman commercial architecture, blending functional market spaces with the grand aesthetic of seventeenth-century Istanbul.
