Turkish Souvenirs: Spices, Towels, and Turkish Delights

As far as I’m concerned, finding souvenirs to bring home is the worst part of traveling. It so hard to try to find thoughtful gifts for friends and family. Since I travel so much, I’m not expected to bring back something from every trip, but going to a destination like Turkey that is new to most of my friends and family, it’d be pretty unforgivable if I came home empty handed.  We Japanese are really big on Omiyage.

I wanted to make things as easy and quick as possible for my souvenir buying spree. I had some ideas of Turkish handicrafts that I wanted to pick up but also wanted to keep an eye out for things that I may “discover”.

Turkish Delights: I discovered that the junk delicious Turkish Delights that I’ve had before weren’t really that good.  I had the opportunity to try some truly delightful Turkish Delights from Altan Sekerleme.  The lokum was just softer, sweeter, fresher than the ones that I had out of boxes.  The shelf life was a lot shorter so it was critical to eat these things within a few days [I tried, I swear I did].

Turkish Towels: I had a bridal shower to go to the day after I got back. I didn’t have time to mess around so I decided to pick up Turkish towels for her gift [as opposed to trashy lingerie…clearly I suck at Bridal Shower Gifts].  But, oh…these towels from Jennifer’s Hamam was so sinfully thick and soft.  I felt like I could sink my fingers into the towel for miles.  I would like to use mine as a blanket, it’s so soft and cozy.  It’s not an inexpensive option, as it is handmade on a loom, but it’s still cheaper than how much you’d pay for similar quality in the US.

Hamam Towels: Flat cotton towels, perfect for a scarf, beach towel, or sarong [striped towels in the photo above].  Anywhere from $5 – $35, from cotton to linen, these towels are perfect in weight and thinness to pack up and take home as gifts.  I found some great colors that I love.  I had to refrain from the linens, even though those were the most gorgeous of the towels.

Spices: Do not get your spices from the Spice Market. Prices there are so high!  Go around the outskirts of the Spice Market and you’ll find an array of spices available at a much better cost.  I bought an entire grocery bag filled with various spices for only $5.  I was so thrilled and excited about these prices that I had to go back and buy some more.  Now that it’s the holidays, I’m kicking myself for not picking up cinnamon sticks for my cranberry sauce!

Nuts: This is going to sound crazy since these things are so flipping heavy but I had the room for it so I bought it. Blanched hazelnuts are pretty expensive in the States. I bought a 1 pound bag for less than $7.50. Not THAT much of a savings but it does help when you bake as much as I do.  [Ok, I admit it, this one was a personal souvenir.] I requested 15 Turkish Lira worth of nuts, which ended up being about 1 pound.

Coffee: Turkish Coffee is a rich espresso-like brew, with the fine grounds left in the coffee.  You need to be careful not to drink the sludge or it’ll cause you to choke violently…uh…not that I know from personal experience or anything.  I loved the stuff but I’m a coffee freak.  It’s probably why I’m crawling up the walls most days.

Tea: Most of the tea in Turkey comes from Ceylon.  The area of Rize in Turkey actually grows black tea but I had a hard time finding the tea in Istanbul.  My next trip to Turkey will have to include a stop in Rize since I love tea so much.

I have to admit that I purchased a lot of souvenirs to bring home.  I have to further admit that I bought a lot of souvenirs for myself. Spices, Nuts, and towels turned out to be my undoing.  I am ashamed. I hope you don’t think less of me.

Altan’s Sekerleme, Turkish Delights

Kiblecesme Caddesi 96

Kantarcilar, Eminonu,

Istanbul, Turkey

 

Jennifer’s Hamam, towels

 

Baskent Coffee & Tea

Asmaalti Hasircilar Cad. Kalcin Sok. No.27/29,

Eminonu, Yusufpaşa,

İstanbul, Turkey

+90 212 527 7676 ‎

 

DIRECTIONS FOR SPICE & NUT STORE:

Seymen Baharat, Spices

With the spice market & new mosque to your back, look across the open square [see image above] towards Rustem Pasha Mosque. Walk across the square towards the mosque opposite the New Mosque. As you walk along the main road [Ragip Gumuspala], you will see a Blue Awning stand that reads “Sadik Bufe” [see below]

Just past this stand, you’ll see a set of stairs…walk up and you’ll find the spice store on the left

Hocao Gullari, Nuts store is located directly across from the spice store.