A friend of a friend has written a children’s story set in the pet market near Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar. The friend of the friend now lives in the U.S., and her illustrator needed some photos of the area to help with the artwork, so I got the assignment. This is a lively part of Istanbul between the New Mosque (completed in 1665) and the Spice Bazaar. There are busy markets, crowded cafes and lots of people. Vendors sell flags and roasted chestnuts. Tourists take pictures. Pigeons and seagulls fly overhead. Buses and cars speed by. Ferries come and go.
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Mike and I began in the Spice Bazaar, which sells spices in addition to bath and beauty supplies, tourist souvenirs, and caviar. We bought oregano and curry and tasted Turkish Delight.
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Just outside the Spice Bazaar is the flower market. It is still wintery cold, so there were all kinds of bulbs and cool season plants for sale. Lots of people were interested in fruit trees.
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In the pet market, you can buy songbirds, chickens, fish, cats, and dogs, and all of the supplies that go with them. For some reason, you can also buy leaches.
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We found the right pet store and took some pictures of puppies. It was a small and crowded shop, so it was hard to get close enough to take photos of the dogs but also hard to get far enough away to take a broad shot. This was taken on the stairs between the two floors of the shop. There are some more picture here. Won’t it be fun to find out how the children’s book, Becoming Katya, turns out?
Tags: Bird Market · Flower Market · istanbul · Pet Market · Spice Bazaar · Yeni Camii1 Comment
Thank you, thank you, thank you! from “the friend of a friend.” Your photos are fabulous! And so useful for our project!