Misir Çarşısı

The Mısır Çarşısı, one of Istanbul’s important historical and touristic commercial centers, was built as the arasta of the Yeni Cami complex in order to cover the mosque’s expenses. Its construction was started in 1660 by Hassa Baş Mimarı Kâzım Ağa on the order of Turhan Sultan, the mother of Sultan IV. Mehmet, and was completed in 1664 by Hassa Baş Mimarı Mustafa Ağa.

The bazaar was referred to by 17th-century historians as Yeni Çarşı and Valide Çarşısı. However, the bazaar, which was built with taxes collected from Egypt, began to be called Mısır Çarşısı from the middle of the 18th century onward, because most of the goods sold in its shops were items and spices coming from Egypt.

Gülcan Acar

In its early years, the bazaar was allocated to herbalists and cotton merchants. Of the bazaar’s six gates, the Balık Pazarı, Hasırcılar and Ketenciler gates were reserved for the herbalists; the Yeni Cami, Haseki and Çiçek Pazarı gates were reserved for the cotton merchants. The upper floors of the main entrance gates at the two ends of the bazaar were used as Commercial Courts dealing with the legal problems experienced by the bazaar tradesmen with the public and among themselves.

In the bazaar, there was a wooden bench in the front section of the shops, and a storage area and workshop in the back section. On the eaves of some shops, a symbol representing the shop, such as a fire tower, boat, ostrich egg, scissors, tassel, etc., was used; in this way, the shops were made easier to recognize.

Gülcan Acar

Mısır Çarşısı has experienced two major fires in its history. The bazaar, which has a history of approximately 400 years, underwent restoration in 1940-1943 and 2015-2018. In 1941, with a road being passed through the courtyard of Yeni Cami, Mısır Çarşısı and Yeni Cami were separated from each other.

Gülcan Acar

At Mısır Çarşısı, which hosts thousands of local and foreign visitors every day, there are today mainly shops selling spices and varieties of Turkish delight, as well as jewelers and souvenir shops.

Places to Visit in Istanbul

Sources:

Istanbul Governorship

Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism

Fatih District Governorship

Address: Rüstem Paşa, 34116 Fatih/İstanbul