COLORFUL DINNER TABLES WITH TURKISH CERAMICS

Spring comes with all the beautiful colors and blossoms! It is great to see colorful tulips and blue Bosphorus everyday we pass through on our way to work, it just gives the energy and make us feel reborn. Even the songs on radio changes with spring and all we want to do is go around in Istanbul´s beautiful spring and take millions of pictures!

With spring the family and friend gatherings are also get more often which we LOVE! Can be a family grill to inviting co-workers to home, there is always an excuse to prepare great dinner tables and get the compliments..

And why not bringing all the blossoms and colors to our tables with the dinnerware!
Colorful Turkish Ceramic plates and bowls, suzani and floral textiles are perfect for creating a true spring fantasy.

Here you can find great options to shop;

You can find this Istanbul Inspired set ; HERE

This set is inspired by the fun Aegean part of Turkey. You can shop the set HERE

This set is both oriental and boho! We love the mix. You can shop this unique Turkish Ceramic set HERE

You can also mix and match and create your very own dinnerware style with these amazing TURKISH CERAMIC PLATES and TURKISH CERAMIC BOWLS.

VISITING ISTANBUL - CAGALOGLU HAMAM

Turkey is well known for the traditional Turkish Hamam (Turkish Bath) and treatments. Most of these hamams have been built during Ottoman Empire with amazing details from floors to doors and ceilings. When you visit Istanbul, you have many options when it comes to visit a Turkish hamam. But there is one which named One of the 1000 places to see before you die and according to The Guardian it is World´s Number #1 bath.

This amazing Hamam was constructed in 1741 and is the last hamam to be built after a long period during the Ottoman Empire. It is the last example of it´s kind and it is special because it is still operational in our time.

The door of the Women section is on a side street called Hamam while the Men´s entrance is form the main road with two marble columns with classic stalactite capitals on both sides.

You can see many celebrity pictures (from Kate Moss to John Travolta) on the walls before the entrance that have been visited to this amazing building.

Go to this Hamam, if you have enough time make it a day to experience a traditional hamam day, it definitely worths! Even if you do not have time for the bath it is so close to the Sultanahmet area (where Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque is) so you can stop by and check out why this place has made it to the 1000 places list!

TEARDROP VASES, TURKISH CERAMICS

Who doesn´t love having unique pieces with meaningful stories behind them?

We are obsesses with these stories that each piece have on our website.

  When you are in Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, many different Turkish Ceramic styles can catch your eyes, teardrop shape is one of the most common styles that are used for making Turkish Ceramics.

We want to share the reason why they are called `Teardrop Vases´. 

They are not called 'Teardrop' only because of their shape, but their story goes back  to hundreds of years. It was believed that women in Anatolia who have lost their husbands in wars were saving their teardrops in these Teardrop vases. And today, Anatolian artisans still make these beautiful vases and dress them with traditional floral motifs. 

Here are these special vases that we have picked for you!

Daisy Hand-painted  Turkish Ceramic Teardrop Vase

Mediterranean inspired Turkish Ceramic Teardrop Vase

Golden Horn Turkish Ceramic Teardrop Vase

Floral Turkish Ceramic Teardrop Vase

OTTOMAN LAMPS AND CHANDELIERS

When you are decorating large spaces, the statement chandeliers always plays a great role.

There might be many options but if you are the ones who are always after handmade & one-of-a-kind, here is a perfect option;

HANDMADE OTTOMAN LAMPS

Besides they are simply beautiful, each one has their own story. Most of them are made by the inspiration of the chandeliers/lanterns that have been used during Ottoman Empire with candles and they come with the great amount of a modern twist.

We are so excited to have these beautiful chandeliers (from small to very large ones) on our website!

If you are an interior designer, architect, have a house/mansion or planning to decorate a hotel, restaurant, these lamps and chandeliers are just what you are looking for!

These luxurious chandeliers are all handmade with amazing work and finish, each style is limited. Get ready to receive many compliments!

You can find our Moroccan/ Ottoman Chandelier HERE

Find this multi-color Ceiling Ottoman Lamp HERE

This 25 Lamp Ottoman Chandelier is HERE 

You can also request different colors and we make them in only 5-7 days!

This is one of our best seller Ottoman Lantern Chandelier, find it HERE

This one is just so iconic! It is SOLD OUT in only 2 days we listed it on our website.

Finally we have remade a limited amount, you can find this beautiful chandelier HERE.

GRAND BAZAAR´S UNDISCOVERED PEARLS

Almost every day, one more Grand Bazaar store involves our website and becomes online! We  and our lovely customers get excited as each of these stores have their own character and one-of-a-kind pieces! Most of these stores belong to families that have been in Grand Bazaar for generations, selling beautiful Turkish Handcrafts.
Here is one of our favorite store belongs to our family friend Uncle Ali, and you can find these beautiful pieces on our website!
                                                       www.grandbazaarshopping.com

You can find this ikat Samovar HERE

Find these beautiful textiles HERE

HERE you can find these beautiful Suzani Cushions

Turkish Ceramic Bowls HERE

Ottoman Lamps HERE

You can shop these Hand-hammered Copper Ewers HERE

TURKISH MEZE RECIPES

Turkish Cuisine is full of amazing tastes and defiantly not only about Kebab! Most of the people who visit Turkey get shock with this rich cuisine. The fun part is, the taste of the foods and the ingredients  are so different in Turkey when you travel to South, North, West and East. 

While south uses many different chili peppers, meat and salca (Turkish Tomato paste), north has more simple foods such as grilled local seafood and cornbread. 

When it comes to Meze, it is also so rich and vary!

We decided to write about Two different meze recipes.

First one is `Ezme` which is from the South Eastern part of Turkey with lots of chili and made to be served before meat.

And `Haydari`, it belongs to Western part of Turkey a fresh taste and can be served before seafood or meat.

EZME

• 3 Large Tomatoes
• 4 fresh chillies
• 1 large red pepper, seeds removed
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 large onion
• 2 bunch parsley
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp salça (tomato puree)
• 1/2 tsp dried mint
• Salt
• 
  
• Place a pan of water on the hob and bring to the boil.
• Plunge your tomatoes into the water for just under 1 minute and then remove them.
• You can now remove the skin from the tomatoes
• Scoop out the seeds of tomatoes with a teaspoon and discard the seeds.
• Chop your tomatoes finely and add them to a large bowl.
• Chop the pepper, onion, chillies and cucumber finely.
• Chop the parsley finely before adding that to your other ingredients.
• Add the mint, oil, vinegar, salca and salt.
• Give everything a good mix and do a taste test.
• Ezme is supposed to be spicy so feel free to add more chili if necessary, if it seems too loose, add more salça.
• Place in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.

                                                   HAYDARI

• 2 tablespoons feta cheese,
• 2 Cups Turkish Yogurt
• 2 clove garlic,
• 1 handful minced dill,
• 1 handful minced fresh mint leaves,
• Salt
• Olive Oil
• Mash the cheese using a fork and stir into the yoghurt,
• Add the grated / crushed garlic, dill, mint and salt and stir really well,
• Put into a serving platter and pour some olive oil over.

If you are willing to serve your mezes in a Turkish way you can check out our Handmade Turkish Ceramic Meze/Breakfast Serving Sets!

LET´S HAVE SOME FUN - TURKISH CERAMICS

We are longing for Spring, maybe more than ever! You know how beautiful it gets with spring all the colors and the amazing waking up energy. Today we had some fun with our Spring Arrival Turkish Ceramic Bowls and Plates. It is amazing how they bring such color to any spaces! Here are some ideas how to use them.

Turkish Copper Trays are perfect for serving, but they also add an authentic touch when you want to decorate your Turkish Ceramics.

You can shop this set with the Tray, HERE.

All these Mediterranean colors are warming up our soul! Firuze Bowls, Small Relief Bowls and Iznik Ceramic Plates are simply perfect for spring/summer and you be ready to get many compliments when you serve to your guests or family with them :-)

No secret that we LOVE Suzani fabric and they are perfect for every season! If you are willing to create a happy and colorful space, using suzani with Turkish Ceramics is a great idea!