A little sneak peek of some of my purchases from Istanbul – 🌙

Hey everyone!

Who doesn’t like shopping right? Well, a trip abroad is never complete without a suitcase full of souvenirs to remind us of the beautiful memories made in that country.

Istanbul, being the perfect balance of Eastern and Western cultures offers a wide range of trinkets that are sure to make your eyes lit up. It’s so easy not to get carried away by the colour, vibrancy and the sheer variety of things available. It truly is Ali Baba’s cave.

So without further ado, let’s get right into it;

As we were living in the heart of Kadikoy, you couldn’t get any better in terms of shopping and eating out. Shopping in Istanbul is truly a dream. Of course, you guys know I love my dream-catchers so when I came across this cute little shop, I knew I had to snap a few up. Istanbul is full of quirky cute little shops that are great for stocking up unique individual gifts.

My tip would be to take the unbeaten path, that’s where you’ll find hidden treasures and will be truly amazed. Oh and don’t forget to follow the cats, they take you to places where you wouldn’t have known otherwise. Hubby and I did that a lot and found quite a few of my Insta-worthy spots. By the way, Istanbul is known for its cats. You’ll find these cute furry little fella’s everywhere!

Here is my white dream-catcher that is hanging up on my display wall at home. I always have to pick one up no matter where I am in the world (I know, I know.. I probably have a million of these already!) Ha! 💁🏻‍♀️

Dream-catchers are just so versatile that they can be styled however you like. You guys know I love my DIY’s and make quite a few myself but I still love collecting them on my trips. Ooh I love love receiving them too! Ahem *wink*

In the same shop, we also came across these cute little bags. If you remember I purchased my Zara straw/rattan bag for my Turkey trip, and let me tell you it was just so handy. It was the perfect size to carry all my everyday essentials but not weighing down on my shoulders at all. This was especially important since we were walking around a lot and exploring so a good sturdy bag is very important. It was such a great buy! (Psss it’s on sale now so I will highly recommend taking a look on the Zara website!)

I decided to to go for the natural coloured round bag with the brown straps as I didn’t have anything like it. I’ve always been wanting one of these especially for the summer. It’s also so much cheaper in Turkey so it’s def recommenced.

In addition to dream-catchers, these evil eye decorations really caught my attention. Turkey is filled with these decor’s, they hang it up on the ceiling of the restaurants, to homes to trees. You’ll quite literally find these everywhere you can scan your eyes. It’s a traditional decor there so very hard to miss.

I brought a couple of these for my friends and family, it’s a little souvenir that’s really unique and lovely to hang in the fine. I also came across a few of these with Islamic scriptures and had to snap them up. The beautiful writing against the blue glass completed with a yellow ribbon was just so beautiful.

Isn’t it just so pretty!

I need to find a nice little corner for these pieces. If you have any ideas, then please do let me know below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

So unbeknown to me, hubby picked this stunning bracelet for me. I am just in LOVE with it. I wasn’t feeling well one day to join him to the Grand Bazaar so he surprised me on his return (we’ve made a couple of trips as it’s just so huge and cannot be covered in one day!) All the walking did tire me out 😪

I’ve been saving it for special occasions as it’s so delicate and lovely, that I don’t want to lose it. It’s very bohemian which is perfect for a boho soul like me, and I love that it’s very understated so will practically go with any look. I’ve been loving gold coins as you all know so this just the perfect summer (and all around) piece to add to my already growing collection.

We also brought these moonstone tasbeeh’s (an Arabic word) which are a collection of beads used religiously by Muslims around the world.

They had taabeeh’s in all kinds of gemstones possible. We brought a couple in each of the offered stones but when I came across these moonstone ones towards the end of our trip, I couldn’t resist snapping a few of them. We had to get them especially made by a stall vendor who makes them himself upon request.

I was admiring a moonstone bracelet and hoped in my heart that I was able to get a tasbeeh in it. I mentioned this to the vendor and he said ‘Oh not a problem at all. Give me a day and I’ll have it ready for you’. I couldn’t believe it. We went the next evening and couldn’t believe how stunning they looked. I simply fell in love with them. He even added different silver charms at the end which made them even more special.

Speaking about religious beads, we also brought these beautiful prayer mats from one of the main shops outside of the Blue Mosque. Hubby and I decided we were going to gift each of our parents one of these. They’re incredibly soft and the perfect gift to remind them of us.

Gosh, who can forget Saffron? So Saffron is said to be one of the most expensive spices in the world. Apparently it’s used for many medicinal reasons and can be very beneficial for health.

When we visited the Egyptian Spice Bazaar (a little smaller than the Grand Bazaar but equally busy), we came across many species and herbs. Everyone was raving about the Saffron, however hubby and I had no idea what we needed to look for in all seriousness. Even if someone was selling us a dupe, we wouldn’t have known.

We both tried to look knowledgable and were being inquisitive about the spice so we didn’t look like complete novices. The vendor mentioned he was going to do a saffron test for us so we know it’s the real deal. He put a tiny amount of saffron in a glass of cold water and said that real saffron will float. It did float and we were just looking at each other amused and perplexed. Quite honestly, I don’t even know if this test means anything but hey, you live and learn!

In the end, we did buy a small pot of it as we really didn’t know how we’ll be using it but we were tempted to take it home with us.

Perhaps you Saffron experts will be able to let us know below.

Ok, please don’t laugh but you know when you see a shiny pair of shoes and you know you have to get them.. yep, that’s me!

I just couldn’t resist a pair. I don’t know where I would have worn them but they just looked so cool. I really fancied the white one on the first row. However, the sad news is that they were out of my size. Not just in that pair but all the pairs that I liked. *sniff*

So with a heavy heart, I had to miss out on these.

I also brought a few of these string beads for my DIY projects at home. I’ll keep you updated on these posts as they come up.

By the way, jewellery and accessories are just so affordable. This is especially great if you want to buy a couple of items that are in fashion but don’t cost an arm and a leg. I will highly recommend picking up a couple of these pieces from here instead. The above earrings were only a couple of pounds. It’s so worth investing in a few accessories and jewellery pieces.

Pretty much just like this hair slide trend. I saw these beaded clips in Spain and all over Instagram/Pinterest but it cost more than what I would have liked to pay. Considering it’s only going to be a fashionable item for a season or two and the hype will eventually slow down, I managed to pick 3 slides in one packet for 12TL (around £1.50. A total bargain!

I hope you enjoyed this little post. I had a few other pieces but as they’re gifts and already gift wrapped, I wasn’t able to include them in this post.

The shopping culture in Istanbul is amazing and I will highly recommend it. If you have any stories, tips or tales to share, I’d love to read all about it below. I really can’t wait to go back to Istanbul again, I have missed it!

Until next time,

Sheema xo