Istanbul: The Grand Bazzar

Before we get to the Grand Bazaar, I thought I'd show you where we stayed in Istanbul. We stayed in a hostel, very near the points of interest, right near the train route, so it was an excellent location! Our room had three beds, so we had a place, other than the floor, to put our suitcases. There was no place to hang anything (except the open window). The bathroom and showers down the hall were clean. The weather was warm and the room had one electric fan. I would say it was okay for the price and worth it for the location.

Here is the view from our window.
And a view looking down to the street from our window.
We were surprised to find an El Torrito in the middle of Istanbul! No, we didn't eat there. How good can Mexican food be in Turkey? Better to eat Turkish food, we'll never find it better!
After a lot of walking, we found the entrance to the Grand Bazaar, and made our own grand entrance.
The place is like a maze, and crowded with people. It seems like you pass ten shops and then keep passing the same ten shops over and over again throughout the place.
There's Turkish candy, made from nuts and fruits, the queen of which is Turkish Delight. We bought some so that the grand-kids could see for themselves what it was that Edmund sold  his soul for... not much, really. Pretty gummy and sweet.
And there were a zillion shops like this selling whatever tourists like us might like to take home and say we bought in Turkey. The salesmen were very aggressive, and if you linger too long, you might be induced to take a cup of tea, which would then obligate you to buy something. The rug guys were the worst of the lot. Very scary.
Here I am, glancing at merchandise, interested, but not too interested. I do plan to buy, just not yet... I did do some nice Christmas shopping here in the Grand Bazaar.
We wandered outside to the area not patronized by tourists. We saw a lot of interesting gardening shops and plants and tools, and then this...
Lots of leeches for sale! Good old Doctor Leech. We toyed with bringing some home, but decided they might not make it through customs.