In the heart of the biggest city of Turkey, in between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia, lies a peaceful heaven, the İstanbul Sanatları Çarşısı (Istanbul Arts Bazaar). Settled in a somewhat typical 18th century Ottoman building, this place is home to people keeping the Istanbul’s crafts tradition alive.
The Arts Bazaar presents 11 art branches and a café in its 12 rooms, all surrounding a small and lovely courtyard, offering visitors a glimpse into the Turkish crafting tradition and expertise.
A few steps from there, you can find the Egyptian Bazaar, offering all kind of manufactured goods for the smallest price you could think of, like a real-life AliExpress shop. How can the small artisans even compete with such low prices and variety? How can traditional craftmanship survive facing this globalisation-powered giant?
The building was abandoned in 1986, then restored by Touring and Automobile Association of Turkey, which then turned the place into the Arts Bazaar we know today. From the outside, you can already have a look at some of the most traditional Istanbul/Turkish crafts, such as here: paper cutting.Once you enter the inside of the building, the twelve madrasah rooms surrounding the courtyard allow you to take a look at the work of the local artists and craftsman. The on-going work of Zeynep, who paints delicate sceneries on silk.“Compared to the [Egyptian] Bazaar, we offer handmade and authentic goods, allowing people to come back home with a unique piece.” Zeynep says.The on-going work of Eymen, miniature painter. “Most of our clients are tourists, who are happy to come back home with something they couldn’t find anywhere else and that has a story.” she says.“Traditional embroidery takes much time and is more expensive than what you can find online. But it is not the same quality, and my local clients appreciate that as much as I do.” Says Elif who’s been embroidering Istanbul natives’ clothes her whole life.
The artisans from the Sanatları Çarşısı are quite confident that their work will still have a target audience, as they offer both authenticity and knowledge. The traditional works such as calligraphy, illumination, paper marbling, tile, paper filigree, etc. are what makes Istanbul such a culturally rich city. Those people are part of soul of Istanbul.
A few blocks away, Mehmet holds a rug shop.
“There is a huge difference between a rug that has been made by hand, following the tradition, and the one that you get from a factory. The rugs I make will be the last you will need to buy.” says Mehmet.“There is a huge difference between a rug that has been made by hand, following the tradition, and the one that you get from a factory. The rugs I make will be the last you will need to buy.” says Mehmet.“I learnt rug-making from my dad, and now I took over his shop. Today, you can find all sorts of manufactured rugs and knitted objects that look like they have been handmade, but they have not.” Traditional crafts are suffering from the globalisation of manufactured goods, quickly producing cheaper versions of what was being handmade. But the local artisans keep evolving to stay in the trend, adding a new value of prestige and uniqueness in their production.The Sanatları Çarşısı remains a token of craftsmanship in Istanbul, supported by NGOs and appearing in most travel guides. Turkish craftsmanship faces hard competition but stays renowned all around the world.
