Istanbul's Grand Bazaar might have become a tourist mecca, but given that it's the world's oldest shopping mall, it's still around for a reason. Locals still work, shop, and play here, and if you're there in the off-season, as we were, you hopefully will get a more authentic grasp of the way this bustling hub of old-worlde business used to be. I loved watching the employees rush around the huge place with the ubiquitous Turkish apple tea to shop owners and customers in their gorgeous, yet utilitarian, tea caddies. Between the knick-knacks, it's still full of beautiful spices, textiles, and other authentic Turkish goods.

Though I couldn't rock a pair of these back in the states, I thought this was such a lovely vignette of this once-traditional Turkish footwear!