Sahaflar Çarşısı

Sahaflar Carsisi is the second-hand book bazaar located in the old courtyard between Beyazid Mosque and Grand Bazaar . It's one of the oldest markets of Istanbul built on the same site as the Chartoprateia, book and paper market of the Byzantines , where booksellers settled their shops in the 18th century leaving the Grand Bazaar . Printing and publishing legislation introduced soon after thus enabling the trade to expand in the whole courtyard. Also during this century the market remained the main point for book sale and distribution within the Ottoman Empire , and a meeting place for intellectual people. Unfortunately in the last 50-60 years the market lost its importance due to inevitable rise of modern bookstores and lately of the internet. Today, there are still some old books, new ones, and examples of Ottoman miniature pages can be found.