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Istanbul Handicrafts Center (Istanbul Sanatlari Çarsisi)
Kabasakal Cad. (the side street next to the Dervis Tea Garden and across from the Blue Mosque), SultanahmetAbout
In another one of its commendable preservationist projects, the Touring and Automobile Club of Turkey has provided an outlet for the revival of Turkish and Ottoman crafts. Each room off the central courtyard of this restored 17th-century medrese serves as an atelier for a different craft. Here you can watch the creation of handmade treasures, including hand-painted silks, folk art dolls and puppets, gilded calligraphy and miniatures, fine porcelain reproductions, and modern examples of the art of ebru, or marbled paper. The center is open year-round, although you may have to knock on some doors to get a personal shopping tour during the off season. Better yet, their fixed pricing takes the guesswork out of buying.
