Nazar Boncuk and other neat stuff

Since nobody was able to guess where these photos were taken (and since they could essentially be taken anywhere where there are tourists) I will tell you that they were taken in the Grand Bazaar. What a shame that I left the bazaar until the last week... and that since I went on the same day that I went to the travel agency to buy my RIDICULOUSLY expensive 1-way ticket back to Erbil. $500 US! The agency is located in Aksaray. I arrived a little after 5, purchased my ticket and went 2 stops back on the tram line to the bazaar. As the bazaar starts to close after 6:00pm, this was a bit of a disaster. All the touts were out in full force, "Madam, Madam, I want to tell you something." "Where are you from?" "Silk scarf? Very beautiful!" "What is your name?" SIGH. However, despite this annoyance, there really are some beautiful things there... and real leather shoes that I didn't have time to try on, but cheaper, more comfortable-looking and of just as good quality as the ones in the shop windows in Taksim. No photo album of Turkey would be complete without a photo containing nazar boncuk. I heard that sometimes mothers pin one of these to the clothing of their children to protect them from the evil eye... and in Cappaddocia somewhere, B found a whole tree of them!
I include this second picture because there was no room in my luggage for one of these lamps. Seeing as the lights in my apartment in Kurdistan are just naked bulbs, how great would it be to hang one of these over the dining room table?

The next time in Istanbul, I plan to start my shopping here, visit the Egyptian Spice Market, and go for coffee on Baghdad Street in Kadeköy.