The Spice Bazaar sits beside the New Mosque at Eminonu, about ten minutes downhill from the hotel. It is an L-shaped covered hall with roughly eighty shops, built in 1664.
What to buy: saffron, sumac, pul biber, dried apricots and figs, pistachios, Turkish delight, apple and herbal tea blends. Most shops vacuum-pack on request, which matters if you are flying. Prices are marked in many shops and modest bargaining is accepted in the rest.
Opening hours are 08:00 to 19:30, seven days a week. Cards are accepted almost everywhere. The wholesale streets of Tahtakale, immediately behind, sell the same goods cheaper if you want quantity rather than presentation.
The ferry piers are two minutes away, so the bazaar fits naturally before or after a crossing.