Arasta Bazaar

Overview

The Arasta Bazaar is the market street of the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque). It runs behind the mosque in Sultanahmet, on the side away from Hagia Sophia, and it was finished in 1617 as part of the mosque complex of Sultan Ahmed I. Today, about eighty small vaulted shops line the lane, selling carpets, kilims, ceramics and textiles.

Quick facts

• Finished: 1617, with the Blue Mosque complex
• Shops: about 200 once, about 80 today
• Restored: 1982–1985, after a fire in 1912

A Market Street for a Mosque

Ahmed I's chief architect, Sedefkâr Mehmed Ağa, built a whole complex around the mosque between 1609 and 1620: schools, a hospital, a kitchen, baths and this arasta, a covered row of shops. Two rows face each other along the lane, and single rows continue at both ends. In addition, each shop opens to the street under a brick arch, with a barrel vault above. Rooms with small domes once stood over the row nearer the mosque.

In fact, in its best years, the arasta had about 200 shops. A fire in 1912 left it in ruins, and the foundations directorate restored it between 1982 and 1985 as a bazaar for visitors. Moreover, an Ottoman fountain still stands on the lane.

What to See at the Arasta Bazaar

The mosaics below

In the 1930s, archaeologists digging under the arasta found floors of the Byzantine Great Palace. The Great Palace Mosaic Museum was built around them, with its door on the bazaar lane. It closed for restoration in 2023 and shows no reopening date, so ask us to confirm before you plan a visit.

Visiting the Arasta Bazaar

The bazaar starts behind the Blue Mosque, on its south side. Walking it is free, and it takes only a few minutes. However, shops keep their own hours.

Updated: November 1, 2026.

Our suggestion

Leave the Blue Mosque by its south side and walk the length of the Arasta. The Hippodrome is just beyond the mosque, so the two fit into one walk.

Seeing the Arasta Bazaar with Us

Our Byzantine Istanbul tour walks through the Arasta on its way to the mosaics of Hagia Sophia. If you are looking for a carpet or a kilim (a flat-woven rug), tell your guide in the morning, and the walk can slow down here.