Grand Bazaar rooftop tours for tourists: a new way to discover Istanbul

The renovated rooftop of Istanbul’s historic Grand Bazaar is hosting special tours for tourists, who have the opportunity to discover Istanbul from a totally different perspective and tour a place that has been the setting for several famous films.

As reported by the Anatolia news agency, local and foreign tourists can enjoy this unique experience thanks to guided tours organised on the roof of the Grand Bazaar (Kapalıçarşı in Turkish), a unique building with a labyrinthine structure containing 3,600 shops and 22 gates and covering an area of 45,000 square metres. Unique panoramic views of both Istanbul and the Bosphorus can be seen from the top of the roof.

Speaking about these rooftop path in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, called Kedi Yolu (Cat’s Path), Fatih Kurtulmuş, chairman of the Grand Bazaar Owners’ Association, explained that the idea of organising rooftop tours for tourists on the roof of this historic building came about during the restoration work.

‘After the restoration of the roof was completed, the idea of sharing this beauty with our citizens and tourists was widely commented,’ he said. ‘All the tourists who have come have been delighted, because they have the opportunity to see Istanbul from a very different perspective,’ he said.

Tours for tourists on the roof of the Grand Bazaar are organised through agencies; the visits last about 20 minutes in groups of 10 people, but are forbidden to those under 15 and over 80 years of age, as well as to people with reduced mobility. Besides taking unique views of the whole of Istanbul – which many tourists share on social media – a visit to the rooftops is an opportunity to relive scenes from films such as James Bond’s Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig.

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