• The Insider
  • Planning
  • Sightseeing
  • Transportation
  • Food & Drinks
  • Going Out
  • Shopping
  • FAQ
  • Tours

Istanbul Insider

Istanbul travel guide and advice by locals.

Where to Buy What Quality Souvenirs in Istanbul

Actually, the question is not only what souvenirs to buy in Istanbul, but how to make sure the gifts are original and of excellent quality! With Istanbul’s vast history and different influences, you get easily overwhelmed while looking for a gift or a souvenir. Not in the least because you’ll run into a low quality souvenir shop or stand on almost every street corner.

Picture of souvenirs found in Selamlique.
Souvenirs found in Selamlique. © Photo by Selamlique

In this article, I will not only provide you with highly practical suggestions, but I’ll also tell you exactly where locals like me get the best quality for their money.

Derviş

The products below come from various regions of Anatolia, so they reflect pure authenticity.

  • Turkish Bath accessories like 100% cotton towels and pestemals (hamam bath cloths), scrubbers, carved wooden clogs, copper bowl and soap cases.
  • 100% natural hand-made soaps which contain virgin olive oil with rose, oregano and other herbs.
  • Tribal mohair covers which are 100% hand spun goat hairs in natural colors.
  • Hand carved natural big soaps.
  • Fur covers made in patchwork design.
  • Hand woven spreads, cloths and covers.
  • Ethnic products such as accessories, dresses, shirts, felts, dowry cloths, which are all hand embroidered and more than 40-50 years old.

Address: Keseciler Caddesi No: 33-35, Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar), Eminönü – Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 514 45 25
Website: www.dervis.com

Haremlique

Haremlique specializes in high quality bed and bath linen products, sleepwear and other accessories offering Ottoman themes in elegant modern designs. The other specialty of the shop is Turkish coffee. You can find traditional flavor or different aromas like chocolate, cardamon, cinnamon or mastic.

This is the place to be, if you feel like taking back home stylish utilities for cooking Turkish coffee, like an elegant silver coffee pot, spoon, tray or coffee cups.

Address: Zorlu Center, Koru Sokak No:2/194, Beşiktaş – Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 236 38 43
Website: www.haremlique.com (for the linen range) & www.selamliqueistanbul.com (for coffee & utilities)

Cem Lokmanhekim

Cem Lokmanhekim has been designing, manufacturing and selling his own jewelry since mid 90s. His unique, hand crafted and custom made designs are the essence of the admiration for him.

Address: Ihlamur Yolu 2/2, Nişantaşı – Istanbul
Phone: +90 212 231 50 65

Backgammon

Here are some tips to get a good board. The best wood type is walnut for longlasting usage. It generally comes in brown or black. Some have pearl inlay (sedef kakma) designs and they look quite authentic but the pearls may not always be authentic.

Turks love this ancient board game and have been charmed by it since the sixteenth century Ottoman times. You can get a backgammon set almost anywhere, especially around Eminönü, Tahtakale and Grand Bazaar. The following shop in Grand Bazaar is specialized in two items: backgammon boards and seramic hanging balls, mostly in tulip and infinity patterns.

Dilek Gift Shop / Mehmet Özyurt
Address: Halıcılar Caddesi No:26, Kapalıçarşı (Grand Bazaar), Eminönü – Istanbul
Phone: +90 532 457 8676

Further Recommended Reading

  1. How to Bargain Like a Pro in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and Elsewhere
  2. Top 9 Shopping Centers in Istanbul
  3. Use Public Transportation in Istanbul to Reach Most Places of Interest

Filed Under: See & Do, Shopping, Shopping Tips, Top Lists, Travel Tips Tagged With: Istanbul, Quality, Souvenirs

Comments

  1. Ro Crumpler says

    July 3, 2020 at 3:45 am

    My husband was in the very lovely, extravagant, and yes, “grand“ Grand Bazaar in Instanbul about 15 years ago. I didn’t get to go with him but he returned
    with beautiful photos taken of this thousands year old city in Turkey.
    Also, while there, he bought something that we had heard so much about. There were these lovely hand-painted balls with a brightly colored tassel attached to the bottom of the balls with metal and bead work. These balls are designed to hang from your ceiling with an attached chain. I have one each hung at the two entrances of my home. These lovely ceramic balls represent the evil eye known by the Turks to ward off or prevent evil from coming into your home.
    The actually evil eye is painted on some of these balls. Here is a description of mine: The balls I own have no eyes all over it. They are approximately 8”-9” in diameter and are hand-painted with fine vine work filled with colorful leaves and tiny flowers. The artist does not let you forget the Turkish flower, the elaborate lily, that is hand painted throughout the vine work of these stunning ceramic balls!!
    I have been trying desperately to find more of these balls to give to my adult children to hang in their own homes. I have searched the Internet endlessly— to no avail.
    If you can help me locate a website where I can buy more of these lovely balls, I would be “forever” indebted to you!!!
    Thank you!
    FYI: I don’t care if I have to pay international shipping.

    Reply
    • Erlend says

      July 6, 2020 at 4:45 pm

      Hi Ro,

      I’ll see what I can do. If I find a solution, I’ll email you.

      Reply
      • Erlend says

        July 9, 2020 at 1:26 pm

        Hi Ro,

        I have just sent you an email.

        Hope it helps.

        Reply
  2. Sandra Bowden says

    February 20, 2020 at 1:32 pm

    Thanks for the intel. heading to Istanbul this weekend and was wondering where to get nice bed and bath linens. Just bought a house in Fethiye and need a few bits especially since I forgot the box with my new towels and sheets in France.

    Reply
    • Erlend says

      February 21, 2020 at 9:25 am

      Hi Sandra,

      Another quality brand you may want to check out is Linens. You should be able to find it in the bigger shopping malls. And often similar shops are grouped together, so you can compare.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Best Sellers

  • Email
  • RSS
  • Twitter

About Us

About
Contact
Frequently Asked Questions
Sitemap

Popular Attractions

Hagia Sophia
Topkapi Palace & Harem
Dolmabahçe Palace
Bosphorus Tour
Whirling Dervishes

Travel Tips

Accommodation & Locations
Airport Transportation
Istanbul Kart, Museum Pass, Tourist Pass
Public Transportation
Taxi’s in Istanbul

© 2011–2022 The Istanbul Insider – Terms of Service • Privacy Policy • Affiliate Disclaimer
Istanbul Insider
Data and Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site.
Click below to consent ('Accept') to the above or make granular choices
Manage Cookie SettingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.

Your choices on this site will be applied only for this site. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by going to the Privacy Policy page of this site.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
_gat1 minuteThis cookies is installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the colllection of data on high traffic sites.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
visitor_id5 yearsThis cookie include cookie name plus the unique identifier of the visitor account. The value stored is the unique ID of the visitor which is used for tracking the visitor.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.