Brush up your bargaining skills before you head to the flea market in Feriköy on a sunday!! It is held at the same spot where the organic market is set up on saturdays. Gözleme, the Turkish pancake, stalls  are there as well as the fresh juice vendors of saturday market. It is for those who love bargain hunting while diving into the past. It is a delight to visit this modest-sized flea market and get to talk to vendors who are eager to narrate you the whole lineage of any item you have an eye on. Whether fiction or not, I am dying to listen to their stories all ears. Where did they acquire the item? Who had to sell it? And why? What unfortunate events befell the owners? Are there any other copies? How much would they ask for it in a store or at an auction?

You can expect to find knick-knacks, second hand books, photo albums,  kitchenware, vintage clothing, hand-painted tea sets, records, antiques, door handles, camera lenses, old chamber pots, hamam clogs or antique knick-knacks. It is not only odds and ends but also quite a lot of collectable stuff are offered at the more than 200 stalls. Most of them are displayed on red velvet cloth, which makes a very nice background for photos.

 

 

 

Authentic or replica? Real or knock-off? Does it really matter if they are taking your breath away? Rummaging through the market is like a time travel to the ottoman past. Could you tell this is the embroidery of a sword’s tassle? How about turning it into a chic bracelet? Hmm. While we were discussing whether it is worth 125 dollars, the thing was gone.

 

 

The circumcision outfit for boys worn at the circumcision party. It is considered a rite of passage for Muslim boys.

 

 

Aren’t these old measuring tools prettier than their digital counterparts?? As someone who loves window shopping, I enjoy wasting my time away in this pretty market photographing objects while learning more about the goods modern technology and design made obsolete. I expect to find treasures at reasonable prices while the vendors are complaining about customers who know not much about their little treasures. They expect to sell their goods to customers who would appreciate their value. I am doing my best, yet i don’t know if I could live up to their standards?

 

“How to be an asset to your husband?” How sexist could those magazines get?

 

It will be a perfect day out for treasure hunting with the smell of pancakes and the music in the air.

 

Tags:  70s breakfast circumcision Feriköy flea market market Market Place recycling retro second hand series shopping Sunday suggestion vintage