Istanbul: Haggling in a city on two continents

“I get a lot of customers here and, sometimes, they take off their clothes to be sewn. So, I have an inner room for half-naked, waiting customers,”  he says, grinning.Like many in his kind of trade, Erdogan has no fixed charges. Noisy haggling, humming sewing machines and a screaming radio create the disharmony that is […]

“I get a lot of customers here and, sometimes, they take off their clothes to be sewn. So, I have an inner room for half-naked, waiting customers,”  he says, grinning.Like many in his kind of trade, Erdogan has no fixed charges. Noisy haggling, humming sewing machines and a screaming radio create the disharmony that is Erdogan’s shop.

“Most times I win in the bargaining; because I have been haggling since I was young. I know my job and I know how to get my money, ‘’ he says.

After about five minutes of haggling, Erdogan accepted three Lira (N300) for hemming a pair of this writer’s trouser.

Erdogan typifies the business atmosphere in Istanbul. Unlike in most European cities, haggling is normal on the Turkish streets, especially in Istanbul, the commercial nerve centre of the Country.

Istanbul, designated European Cultural Capital for 2010, is a mixture of colour and culture. It is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city in the world with a population of more than 12.6 million.

Istanbul is also a megacity as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey.The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbour known as the Golden Horn, in the North-West of the country.

A unique feature of the city is that it extends both on the European (Thrace) and on the Asian (Anatolia) sides of the Bosphorus, which makes it the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents.

In its long history, Istanbul has served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922).

A first timer in Istanbul could easily mistake the culture of haggling for a fight, as both sellers and buyers wrestle in loud tones, sometimes throwing banters and tantrums.

Almost every transaction in Istanbul is preceded with haggling. These include using a taxi, booking a hotel, eating in a restaurant, shopping and going for a boat cruise.

First timers in the city, which is rich and reputable for its historical and cultural posture, need to learn the art of haggling.

“I checked on the Internet and I was able to contact a professional haggler in the city who helped my daughter and I in our shopping at the Grand Bazaar, ‘’ said a retiring World Bank staff.

The lady, who was on vacation, said “the professional haggler takes only four guests in day and she gets paid for helping visitors cut down prices around the Grand Bazaar.

“She knows the prices of almost all the goods at the Grand Bazaar and she does not compromise with the sellers.”

The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and more than 4,000 shops. It attracts between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily.

The Bazaar, built in 1464 by Sultan Mehmet II — The Conqueror — who captured the city from the Byzantines, covers some 31 hectares at the heart of the European side of Istanbul.

The Grand Bazaar is known for jewelries, pottery, spices, and carpets. However, visitors must be careful as it takes an expert eye to tell the originals from the fake products.

The Grand Bazaar, the hub of haggling, situated in Sultan Ahmed, was the prime interest for most of the 13, 000 delegates that thronged Istanbul in October for the 2009 World Bank/IMF Annual meetings.

On arrival for the meetings, a group of Nigerian delegates went touring some of the legendary sites and learnt the art of haggling a little too late. The group took a taxi to see the wonders of the Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque), Basilica Cistern, the Topkapi Palace and the Haga Sofiya — a church turned into a mosque and later a museum.

For the trip to Sultan Ahmed, where all the sites were situated, the group paid 150 dollars — about N23,000 to pick a taxi from Taksim. But on their return trip, they were charged 25 dollars, about N4,000, for the same distance.

“It was a ten-minute drive alright; but the first taxi took us on a merry go round,” a member of the group said.

Hotels warn first timers on the slippery side of Istanbul — haggling.

“Welcome to Istanbul, a city that sits on two continents, Europe and Asia, but be careful when you pay for products and services, ‘’ a receptionist, Ardlan Figgish, said.

Figgish works for Yasmak Sultan Hotel in Sirkeci. He said haggling, like the belly dancing, the bluefish meals and apple tea, were part of the culture.

“We accept a different rate for the days before and after the IMF meetings, but during the meetings, the rates in all hotels in Istanbul and nearby cities were reviewed, ‘’ he said.

“We had to learn new ways of haggling to cut down bills in Istanbul, ‘’ Aisha Yolah, a Journalist from Nigeria, said. Yolah was part of the government delegation to the meetings.

“In Istanbul, you have to keep negotiating and negotiating to get a good bargain, there is no fixed price.

“I devised a plan to get good bargains and save up on time. I walk away mid-way into negotiations and expect the sellers to call me back. Sometimes they do and accept my offer; other times they don’t, ‘’ she said.

The IMF/World Bank meetings brought in about 13, 000 participants from 186 countries and created a haven for quick profit and the battle of wits.

“We made our hotel reservations some months before the meetings, but I paid 25 dollar this morning for breakfast, ‘’ an IMF official, Ismaila Dieng, said.

Dieng said the reservations were reviewed and the rate on food was also reviewed upward

“Welcome to Istanbul; do you like girls, do you like to drink or to dance? I will give you all for 100 dollars or less,’’ a pimp sings along the Taksim Square.

Pimps, who haunt and taunt visitors, are regular sights in Taksim Square, in the heart of Istanbul. Taksim Square is reputed for the highest crime rate and fraud in the city.

Visitors are advised by hotels and security operatives to take guides along when visiting Taksim.

“Welcome to Istanbul, ‘’ Murat Ahmad yells. Ahmad sells postcards by the Blue Mosque, but he also moonlights as a tour guide.

Ahmad’s postcards have no fixed price and when he takes guests on a tour of the Blue Mosque or to his grandfather’s carpet shop, he gets his cut.

“If you can keep yourself from impulsive buying, you will survive in Istanbul, ‘’ Says Marcus and his wife, Juliana Davis, who came in from Costa Rica for holidays.

Alongside Marcus and Juliana, the Plan tours took us on a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait to see the bridges that connect Europe and Asia, the luxurious Islands on the Black Sea and the 780 million pounds Dolmabahce Palace, built between 1839 and 1856.

The site seeing in the European and Asian sides of Istanbul was enlightening; but guests were told to negotiate for their drinks at lunchtime. And they did.

“The lunch does not include drinks so you have to pay for your drinks, ‘’ Sammy, the tour guide told befuddled guests.

On a second visit to Erdogan, the tailor, to hem another trouser, he asked for 10 Lira. After a long period of haggling, the writer paid five Lira (N500).

What happened was this simple — Erdogan finished work before this writer asked for the price!

The writer assumed the price was the same as at his first transaction; after all, it was merely the hemming of a similar pair of trouser!

But he was very wrong. In Istanbul you don’t assume prices – you haggle. (NANFeatures