Copper Market in Gaziantep : Offbeat Turkey

A man is sitting on a stool just by the door of his shop. On his lap is an intricately carved copper vessel. With his left hand he holds a big chisel over the vessel and with his right he gently beats it with a hammer. Every second he keeps changing the position of the nail, carving a pattern on the metal. The metal protests in pain, expelling a piercing sound, but that sound is muffled under the melody of the tune the man is humming.

“Bazaars and bedestens are different. We call the covered bazaars ‘bedesten’. This one is a bazaar, not a bedesten,” says Sehzat. It is my second day in Gaziantep and Sehzat Kaya, my guide, has allotted me only an hour’s time to explore the copper bazaar or copper market in Gaziantep on my own. My first day in Gaziantep was a Sunday, the day of the week when the market remains shut.

Unlike its neighbours, Gaziantep (also known as Antep) is an industrial city in Turkey. Being present on the famous silk route, the city has always been home to bustling markets. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities of the world and flaunts several markets with an old world charm. One of them, the coppersmith market, is where artisans sell handmade copperwares from generations. But that is not the only attraction here.

Coppersmiths in the Copper Bazaar of Gaziantep

The coppersmith takes no notice of my presence or my camera. Unperturbed, he carries on with his art and song. Occasionally he stops to make small conversations with locals. Sometimes, they just glance at each other and pass smiles. Every dweller in this cobbled-stoned market seems to know each other.

Gaziantep is known over the world for its cuisine, more so after getting on the list of UNESCO’s Creative Cities for Gastronomy. What adds uniqueness to the jolly dining scene of Gaziantep are the copper crockery and cutlery used in the restaurants and residences. The sellers pay attention to the locals— their recurring customers.

I move ahead to the next shop. A group of young men smiles at me. A flurry of sign languages and broken English follows. English is a rare language here. The locals mostly converse in Turkish, Kurdish and Arabic. Their showcases are stacked with not just copperware but silver and golden-hued vessels as well. A little farther, fancy chessboards, and their accompanying kings, queens, bishops, rooks, knights and pawns made of copper are nicely laid out.

A pile of fridge magnets kept in the belly of a large jar catches my attention. Handmade by the artisans, these fridge magnets come in various shapes—fishes, sea anchors, butterflies — at 5 Lira each. I grab 10 of them, paranoid I might miss the perfect yet economical souvenir to bring back home for my family and friends.

A persistent blue stone has been recurring in the fridge magnets— they tell me it is the evil eye. The four rings of colours — Prussian blue  outermost, then white, then sky-blue and finally ending with a black — is effective in warding off evil spirits!

I am still sifting through the collection of copper products to zero-in on the tiniest of the lot. I walk into a shop where Mehmet Erdogan receives me with much fan-fare and a tea invitation. I buy a miniature copper tajine for 10 Lira. The most common question on everyone’s lips is, “Where are you from?” Every time I say India they repeat with a smile, “Ah Hindistan!” In big cities, Indian tourists are hardly liked, but the picture is very different in Gaziantep. On knowing I write for magazines and newspapers, Mehmet repeatedly tries to communicate something through signs— he was probably trying to say his shop was featured in television— but I would never know for certain.

Yemeni Shoes

As I move forward, the odour of leather fills my senses. Strung in rows hanging from the air are shoes—red, pink, yellow, white, black, brown and various other colours—Yemeni Shoes. Since the past 700 years, these handcrafted shoes have been famous for keeping the feet cold in summer and warm in winter. They also prevent the stink of sweat! Worn widely during the Ottoman era, the popularity of these shoes have waned over time, but have been kept alive in the region by performing artists interested in displaying Gaziantep’s crafts. Yemeni shoes were also used in Hollywood movies like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Troy and 300. Just like the copper artisans, the Yemeni Shoes crafters are carrying on a family trade.

Like every other person of Gaziantep, Enver (its been almost a year, I think his name was Enver) greets me into his shop. In a piece of paper, he writes down the price of the shoes in English numerals. At this point, I wished I had my guide with me to translate and keep the conversation going! To keep Enver in my memory, I pick up a tiny pair of shoes, meant to be used as keychains, just for 5 Lira. Enver too invites me for a tea-break which I had to refuse for my time constraint.

Drinks in the copper market in Gaziantep — Meyan kökü serbeti and Ayran

I have been eyeing  a man wearing a white shirt coupled with a red ottoman vest. On his back he carries a big copper jug. Tucked in his belt buckle were (unfortunately) plastic cups. I see random passers-by stop by him and, in exchange for money, the man pumps a red beverage from his vessel into a cup and hands it over.

For 1 Lira, he hands one to me. I gulp it down. A pungent taste washes down my throat. Later, on asking Sehzat, he says the drink is made from herb extracts and is called Meyan kökü serbeti in Turkish (and probably Liquorice in English).

Unlike in most of Gaziantep, in this market, shops selling spices and nuts are less common. Invited by Mustafa and his 10 year-old son Ilias, I go into one such shop and taste Turkish Delight — sweet, chewy cubes of different colours with a dense jelly-like texture, coated with sugar dust. They pack me some for 20 Lira. Ilias offers me tea, an etiquette prevalent in this city. I could not refuse them, but substituted tea for water.

On the pavement, a low-rise table is laden with a shiny red tablecloth with motifs. Over it are two copper glasses overflowing with a frothy drink. It is chilled Ayran (buttermilk), a yoghurt based drink extremely famous in Turkey, topped with some frothy butter. I sit on a stool and enjoy the drink for 2 Lira while watching people go by.

Mother-of-Pearl

Ignoring Sehzat’s protests, I stretch my stay in the market a little more. I pay one quick visit to a shop sporting an impressive display of woodwork with mother-of-pearl inlay. In Turkish, this craft is called sedef or sedefkar. On closer inspection, I realize the chessboards that I had previously checked out were indeed inlaid with  mother-of-pearl. I shuffle through the chairs, book reading stands, jewellery boxes but they are obviously impractical for me to buy and carry around for the whole trip, and also a bit expensive. So, I leave the store empty handed.

To Sehzat’s great relief I am finally ready to exit the market and proceed towards our lunch venue.

To watch my Gaziantep video on Youtube, please click here.

Have you been to the copper market in Gaziantep? Is there any other information regarding this city that you want to know? Feel free to post a question and let the conversation begin!

*****

Disclaimer: Tania was hosted by Turkey Tourism Board. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the post are of her own.

Love travelling? Sign up to the free newsletter here to become a loyal follower and get access to travel inspirations and exclusive surprises planned just for you!

Follow us on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Google+