Hearing much about the famous spice market in Istanbul, we took a taxi from our hotel to the center of town and walked along the big open area until the tiny shops started appearing before us.  Suddenly it was wall to wall people and we found an engaging man selling his spices and he lured us in the tiny shop.  The name of the spice shop is Inanc Baharat and he is known as the Spice boy.  Our list included turemic, curry, pepper and sumac.  Before I knew it, he loaded us up with $130 worth of spices and vacuumed sealed each bag for the trip home!

I didn’t know if we had been hustled into buying more than we needed and what the correct price should be, but I did know his spices are fresh.   I posted a picture of the spices on facebook and offered some to my friends since I have an abundance and many are taking me up on my generous offer.  I’m looking forward to cooking with them when I return home and making some very tasty and flavorful dishes.