Ahhh – souvenir shopping! One of my favorite activities while I’m on vacation. If you are a souvenir shopaholic like me, Turkey will not disappoint! There are plenty of goods both big and small, edible and inedible for you to bring home from Turkey with you. Just don’t forget to leave room in your suitcase for your purchases!!
Lokum (Turkish Delight)
One of the most popular items to take home is lokum (Turkish delight). These uniquely Turkish confections are exotic and delicious. Lokum are small, sweet, chewy squares made from gelatin and coated in either powdered sugar or coconut. They come in a range of flavors: from traditional Ottoman flavors like lemon and rose to more modern concoctions like pomegranate. Some are plain and some contain nuts: pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts. My absolute favorite variety is lokum with pistachios covered in powdered sugar and single roasted (double roasted or çifte kavrulmuş is more expensive but too tough in my opinion). If you are going to buy lokum, visit a traditional purveyor and buy it fresh. DO NOT buy the prepackaged boxes in the airport or other tourist locations. Freshness matters a lot in lokum and the pre-packaged stuff is almost always too tough. At the traditional shops they will pack the box of lokum in front of you with lokum plucked fresh from the shop counter. They will usually give you a sample while you wait (or let you try varieties before buying). Great places in Istanbul to buy lokum are Ali Muhiddin Haci Bekir and Koska – both with shops on Istiklal st. Hafiz Mustafa near the Sirkeci tram stop is another good spot. My favorite place to buy in Ankara is at Ali Uzun – I always stop there before heading home to the U.S. and emerge with several gift boxes in tow!
Baklava
Yes it is possible to buy baklava to take home with you! As with lokum, please don’t buy the pre-packaged stuff that you find in the airport! Go to a real shop like Karaköy Güllüoğlu and ask for a package of kuru baklava: this “dry” baklava will travel well and still be very tasty by the time you get home.
Other foodstuffs
Other popular Turkish sweets to take home are badem şekeri (Jordan almonds), helva (candy made from tahini), and pişmaniye (spun sugar candy). A sweet shop like Koska or Hafiz Mustafa will have several varieties of these items. Dried apricots and hazelnuts are abundantly produced in Turkey and are also good, authentic items to bring home with you.
Spices, tea, and coffee are also popular souvenirs. Visit the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul and buy fresh spices by weight: they will vacuum seal them for your trip home. If you want to purchase tea, pop into a supermarket or corner store and look for bags of Çaykur brand loose tea. The Filiz and Rize varieties come from the Black Sea coast in Turkey and are excellent. Traditional tea sets with their small tulip-shaped glasses can also be a nice souvenir. For coffee, look for the Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi brand. Either head to their shop just outside of the Spice Bazaar (follow your nose) or look for the familiar gold canister in any market. If you buy Turkish coffee make sure you buy a cezve, the small pot in which you cook the coffee, so that you can prepare it properly when you get home!
Evil Eyes (Nazar Boncuklar)
It would be an understatement to say that I am obsessed with Turkish evil eyes. Step foot in my apartment and you will find these symbols of good luck on pretty much every possible surface. True story: I once wrote about my obsession with evil eyes in a college admissions essay. Called nazar boncuklar in Turkish, the beads are similar to other symbols you will find in Mediterranean cultures that are said to ward off the “evil eye.” The basic concept behind the superstition is that if someone pays you a compliment and you are not protected by a nazar boncuk then the evil eye will get you and ensure that you lose whatever virtue that compliment was praising (e.g., the beautiful woman becomes ugly).
It is particularly popular to pin these little blue beads on babies, to hang them over entrances to homes and businesses, and to hang them from the rearview mirrors in cars. Whether or not you believe in this particular superstition, I think they are fantastic cultural symbols. To me, they exemplify the Turkish culture, as you will be hard-pressed to find a Turkish home or business that doesn’t have a nazar boncuk hanging somewhere. You will find them everywhere in stores across Turkey and adorning every possible object: from glass beads you hang on the wall, to jewelry made from the beads, to dishes and towels displaying the symbol. These items are typically inexpensive: I highly recommend buying some type of nazar boncuk to take home with you. After all, you never know when you might need a little protection. 🙂
Ceramics
Ottoman architecture is famous for its use of the ornate painted Iznik tiles. This ceramic craftsmanship is still thriving in Turkey today in artisanal centers like Iznik, Kütahya, and Avanos. In these cities and in tourist shops across the country you will find beautiful, handmade painted pottery of all shapes and sizes: plates, bowls, tiles, vases, animals, and more. Style, quality, and price can vary significantly for these items. Keep your eyes open for something that strikes your fancy and don’t forget to bargain before buying! The only tricky thing about buying these pieces is getting them home safely. Ask the seller to wrap your purchases in bubble wrap for your trip home. I always then wrap pottery in extra clothing and put it in my hand luggage so that I have more control over what happens to it.
Carpets
Carpets are one of the most iconic Turkish souvenirs. Carpet-weaving is a historic tradition throughout Turkey with distinct styles coming out of the different regions. It is a craft practiced almost exclusively by women (although sold in shops almost exclusively by men). In Turkey you will find both carpets and the flat-weave kilims which can be put on the floor or hung on the wall. Traditional carpets come in all sizes and are made from wool, cotton, or silk.
Carpet-buying is a magnificent process in Turkey. You are ushered into a showroom and offered Turkish tea while a swarm of attendants unfurl different sizes, shapes and textures of carpets on the floor in front of you. It’s a bit like the ancient version of the modern-day Netflix algorithm: as the seller begins to see what you like and don’t like he hones the inventory towards something you will find irresistible. Once you have come down to your favorites you will start to talk price. If you are someone who loves to bargain this is where the real fun begins. Remember that the first price is never the final price. Don’t be afraid to give a low counter-offer (recognizing you will eventually meet in the middle). Don’t be afraid to walk away if you aren’t getting to a price that you are comfortable paying (but walking away once the seller agrees to a price you suggest is very bad form). And remember that the carpet dealer is not going to sell you a carpet for a price that isn’t still making him a good profit (no matter how much he groans about you bankrupting him). That said, have fun with it! More than likely your seller will be a friendly, personable man and you should enjoy the experience.
Towels and other Textiles
Turkey has a robust cotton industry and much of that cotton makes its way into the famous Turkish towels and other textiles. Towels from the Denizli region (near Pamukkale) are known to be the most plush and luxurious. You can find towels in all shapes, colors and sizes in Turkey. Small hand towels can make good gifts or you can buy a whole towel set to bring back home. Peştamal, the thin, highly absorbent towels found in hamams, are becoming increasingly popular souvenirs.
If you venture into smaller towns, it is very common to find tablecloths or embroidered scarves made by village women. Some of these are really beautiful and they can be astonishingly inexpensive. (I make it a point to not bargain with village women). The Bursa region is very famous for its silk where it is mostly used to make ties and scarves. And then there are the ubiquitous pashminas that you will find in every corner of the Grand Bazaar and every other souvenir shop in the country. They range in price and quality but can be pretty inexpensive souvenirs and are blissfully easy to pack.
Copper, Silver and Jewelry
You will find plenty of souvenirs made from copper and silver in Turkey. Copper has been used for cooking and for decoration in Turkish homes for centuries. Gaziantep in particular has a robust copper market where you can find tin-plated copper in all shapes and sizes. The hamam tası, a copper bowl used for washing yourself in the hamam, is a popular copper souvenir. Silver shops are also a common site in Turkey. Here you will find silver objects of all kinds, with silver-plated mirrors being a popular item.
Strolling through Kalpakçilar street in the Grand Bazaar you will find wall-to-wall gold jewelry shops. The nice thing about buying gold jewelry in Turkey is that the price is determined by the weight and the market price (which is displayed on digital boards throughout the gold shops). The jeweler will weigh the piece right in front of you and calculate the price. Note that you can still bargain a bit off this price (but don’t expect to go too low).
