Kapali Bazaar Or Covered Bazaar Editorial Photo

Kapali Bazaar or Covered Bazaar or simply Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world with 61 covered streets and over 3,000 shops attracting between 250 and 400 thousand visitors a day. In 2014, it was declared the most visited tourist destination in the world with 91,250,000 tourists per year. The Grand Bazaar was the center of trade in the Ottoman Empire, which at one time spanned three continents. All trade routes in Europe and Asia were in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. In the Kapala bazaar there were numerous shops, two mosques, caravanserais and inns, where merchants on the Silk Road could sell their goods and rest from the journey.