(MENAFN- AzerNews) By Mesude Demirhan
The historical Istanbul Grand Bazaar, one of Turkiye's most
important historical, cultural, economic and artistic venues,
frequented by local and foreign tourists, is experiencing one of
its busiest days. There are more than 60 business lines in the
Grand Bazaar, which has a very active day with the effect of
tourism and wedding season, from jewelery to souvenirs, from china
to leather and textile.
Retail stands out
We asked the problems and demands of the tradesmen about the
situation of the Grand Bazaar to Fatih Kurtulmus, the Chairman of
the Grand Bazaar. Kurtulmus said, "There is a lot of density in the
Grand Bazaar right now. With the opening of the season, tourists
come until September and October. As of the end of May, 18 million
tourists came. An average of 3 million 700 thousand people visit
each month, both domestic and foreign. At the end of the year, it
exceeds 40 million tourists. Of 40 million, 10 million are foreign
tourists. It was 43 million before the pandemic. Our goal is to
have 50 million tourists annually".
Traditional professions are disappearing
Fatih Kurtulmuş said that tourists mostly buy items such as
tiles, ceramics, carpets, silver and gold belonging to Turkey.
Referring to the old professions, Kurtulmus gave the following
information: "Only one of the knitters remained. There were many
coppersmiths in the past. There were quilters. Their number also
decreased a lot. The production sites went out completely. For
example, the production sites related to jewelers completely went
to Kuyumcukent. For production. There should be large places. The
places in the Grand Bazaar are suitable for retail. Therefore,
there was no production in the Grand Bazaar except for minor
repairs. Consumption became a retail place. Repairs and production
remained outside the Grand Bazaar."
Coming by cruise spends more
Fatih Kurtulmus stated that visitors come from all over the
world and gave the following information: "However, tourists come
mainly from Russia, Germany, Iran, Bulgaria, Greece and Iraq. In
general, tourists come from all over the world, from Latin America
to Venezuela and Japan. There are geographical, economic, political
and historical reasons. Our country has become a center of
attraction. Tourists who shop very well come to our country by
cruise in September and October. They come to our country due to
congress and health tourism and do not leave without visiting the
Grand Bazaar."
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