Economics
World's Oldest Marketplace Is Awash With Dollars and Anxiety
- Grand Bazaar sees surge in Turks buying dollars amid lira drop
- Traders say they’re waiting for the central bank to step in
Customers browse souvenirs and other goods in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, on Aug. 15, 2015.
Photographer: Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg
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Judging by the amount of dollars on offer at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, it’s an ordinary day in Turkey. That changes if you look for the price.
Most of the foreign-exchange bureaus at the world’s oldest covered market turned off their electric signboards on Wednesday, removing the live displays for the quotes of the greenback in liras -- an oddity never seen in recent history, the bazaar’s employees say.