For many visitors, sightseeing in Istanbul is as much about shopping as museums and monumental attractions, and the Grand Bazaar is where everyone comes.
This massive covered market is basically the world's first shopping mall, taking up a whole city quarter, surrounded by thick walls, between the Nure Osmaniye Mosque and Beyazit Mosque.
The Beyazit Mosque (built in 1498-1505) itself occupies the site of Theodosius I's Forum and has architecture inspired by the Aya Sofya.
