The Saturday Markets

In my little neighborhood of Rumeli Hisarustu, far from the city center, they have a really neat thing they do on Saturdays. From 10am-6pm, they have the neighborhood market. I had taken advantage of the neighborhood market sporadically throughout the semester (some weeks more than others) but don't think I ever really wrote about it. To me, the markets were a pretty cool concept (much like a Farmer's Market you would see in the US).

These markets were, of course, slightly different, selling Turkish foods and produce. The market was set up about a 5 minute walk from my apartment along the main road north. Every Saturday, the sellers would set up big white tents covering the area. I really liked the markets for 2 reasons. Firstly, it was without a doubt the best place to buy fresh produce. I am pretty sure this stuff came straight from the farms to our neighborhood. I suppose that in itself is not overly surprising or impressive considering the same thing happens with markets here in the United States too (they are just fewer and further between).

I walked down the streets to find any sort of produce imagineable. They had fresh broccoli, fresh peaches, potatoes, lemons, etc. The best part was the price (my 2nd reason for loving these little markets)! 4 Lemons for 1 TL and 3 TL for a kilo of potatoes was pretty much the norm. They also sold all sorts of authentic cheeses (but I wouldn't touch the cheese in an outdoor market because I am superstitious). They even had freshly caught fish, laundry detergent, toilet paper, and clothes.

I think the diversity of items beyond the produce (which is typically what one would expect at a farmer's market) is what surprised me most. On some Saturdays I would go and buy what we needed for the apartment and come back with bags full of things for only 10 or 20 Lira. It was out of control! They even had "Turkish bananas" which were like the South American ones but smaller and different. I really did enjoy going to the fresh markets and it was another of the aspects of life in Istanbul that I will miss.