Renovated roof of Istanbul's historic Grand Bazaar open for visitors through tours

By Aysenur Kaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - The renovated roof of Istanbul's historic Grand Bazaar is open for visitors through tours.

Restoration work is underway in the structure, which is frequently visited by tourists with its historical texture and intense commercial life.

Both local and foreign tourists are enabled to discover Istanbul from a different perspective with special tours organized on the renovated roof of the Grand Bazaar, which resembles a giant labyrinth with its architecture, with 3,600 shops, 22 gates and 14 inns in a closed area of about 45,000 square meters (484,376 square feet).

Tourists from all over the world, who see a unique view of the city and the Bosphorus on the rooftop paths, called cat paths, share the images they take on their social media accounts.

Fatih Kurtulmus, chairman of the Grand Bazaar’s (Kapalicarsi) board, told Anadolu that the first stage of the restoration of the building was completed and that the rest of the restoration is still underway, while the roof was finished.

Kurtulmus highlighted that the idea of roof tourism emerged with the restoration process of the bazaar.

“After the restoration of the roof was completed, the idea of sharing this beauty with our people and tourists was intensely voiced among our friends.

"The idea of presenting this area to the outside world and our country with an orderly and beautiful impression prevailed. We took action on this. After establishing the necessary rules and regulations, we continued," he said.

"Every tourist who came was satisfied, because they had the opportunity to see Istanbul from a different perspective."

Emphasizing that the roof tours organized through agencies last for 20 minutes in groups of 10 people, Kurtulmus said they received good feedback on the project.

Stressing that many people visited the roof, he said the Grand Bazaar hosted 44 million visitors last year and that their target is 50 million tourists.

Kurtulmus said the series and movie offers for shooting here continue to come intensively, reminding that Skyfall, one of the James Bond series films starring the renowned actor Daniel Craig, was shot on the roof of the Grand Bazaar.

“We think that there will be such (film) shootings again in the future. Of course, in accordance with the rules of this place, we think that these projects will continue here if it can be under appropriate conditions without damaging our roof," he underlined.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel in Istanbul