People throng Eminönü stores for Ramadan feast shopping
Özge Esen - ISTANBUL
With only a few days left until Eid al-Fitr, people have started thronging the shops in Istanbul’s Eminönü district, famous for traditional Turkish delight and Ottomon-inspired sweets, to do holiday shopping.
As preparations for Ramadan are ongoing, in Eminönü, flamboyant candies, chocolates and Turkish delights have taken their place on the counters.
Some stalls of vendors in the Egyptian Bazaar, also known as the Spice Bazaar or Mısır Çarşısı in Turkish, witnessed a density of people wishing to buy candies or chocolates for the Eid.
However, the price of sweets, which has more than doubled compared to last year, has upset people shopping for Ramadan. Especially the price of chocolate, starting at a minimum of 300 Turkish Liras per kilogram, has left visitors unhappy.
Turkish delight is one of the most popular sweets as an indispensable side treat put next to the cup of traditional Turkish coffee. Though there is also an increase in Turkish delight prices, it stands out as one of the more affordable treats than chocolate or other sweet varieties.
The per kilogram price of Turkish delight starts from 50 liras and can go up to 180 liras depending on the type, while the per kilogram price of candies starts from at least 100 to 120 liras. Shopkeepers commented on the reason for the price increase as “competition.”
The customers are aware of the fact that the prices of sweets have drastically soared compared to last year, but they still prefer Eminönü because everything is more affordable there than in the rest of the city.
Sezai Ertürk, one of the shopkeepers of the Spice Bazaar, stated that Turkish delight prices were around 80 to 120 liras last year.
Ertürk noted that their sales are going well thanks to the inflow of tourists, but locals prefer not to shop in the bazaar as the prices are high there compared to other street shops in the district.
