Spice Bazaar is located on the coastal side of Eminonu, which is where the marketplace has always been active since Byzantine times. In those days, Eminonu had a thriving commercial activity when maritime business was significant. Istanbul was one of the most important centers of trade in Byzantine and Ottoman times due to its strategic location between East and West, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea. For centuries, Istanbul was the center of all world trade. In Byzantine times, there was an old Spice Bazaar called "Makron Envalos" in the same location as today's Spice Bazaar.
A coastal city stretching from the Balkans and Europe to the northern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula, Istanbul lay on a transit trade route. Products such as silks, spices, precious stones, woven goods, and carpets from the East and the Arabian Peninsula would be collected in Istanbul on their way to Europe. As a complex in the Ottoman classical style, the Spice Bazaar built within the New Mosque complex is a combination of two bazaars with the characteristic of being a double bazaar. The Spice Bazaar covers an area of 6000 m², resulting in an "L" floor plan.
On the orders of Safiye Sultan, wife of Sultan Murad III and mother of Sultan Mehmed III, construction of the New Mosque first began in 1597. The original architect Davut Aga, who was an apprentice to the great architect Sinan, began construction and then he was replaced by Ahmed Aga. By the late 16th century, sultan mothers had begun to gain political power and emerged as architectural patrons in the Ottoman Empire.
Istanbul's Spice Market was built entirely as part of the adjacent New Mosque complex in 1663 to generate funds for the upkeep of the mosque. The Spice Market in Istanbul is the second-largest covered bazaar in Turkey and the largest spice market in the world. The Spice Bazaar is a covered marketplace with a spice market. The Spice Bazaar was originally built as part of the New Mosque complex to function as an economic institution to enable the pious foundation to survive without outside help or support.
During the Ottoman Empire, pious foundations were defined as civil society organizations focused on serving those in need. These virtuous institutions were based on the Islamic concept of charity. The spiritual and material integrity of these charities was supported by the large complex of buildings called “imaret” with various facilities surrounding a mosque such as schools, dervish huts, soup kitchens, water fountains, baths, markets, and bazaars to legitimize them due to their power, the revenues of these commercial institutions used for the expenses of religious foundations. The bazaars of the Ottoman Empire were organized as public areas where all of society came together. Far removed from residential areas, these commercial areas consisted of a covered or open main street or streets lined with shops and workshops.
The Spice Bazaar, one of Istanbul's oldest and busiest marketplaces, where the historic Silk Road met the Maritime Spice Route, was first called "New Bazaar or Sultan’s Bazaar" by earlier chroniclers. It was also called the Egyptian Bazaar because many of the products and spices were imported from Egypt at the time. Although originally planned with a hospice, the New Mosque complex eventually ended up with a mosque, covered bazaar, fountain, and a tomb.
Given the dynamism of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, the Spice Bazaar is considered one of the rare displays of women's power through an architectural building that created a distinct trading hub and demonstrated the all-powerful position of the sultan's mothers in the Ottoman Empire. Due to the fact that this complex of buildings was commissioned when economic realities were changing drastically and dissent over such large expenses was expressed as a blatant demonstration of prestige, the land allocated for this monumental complex was among the most valuable land plots in Istanbul at that time. A very unique place; The Golden Horn, next to the port and close to Topkapi Palace!
Also, the first coffeehouse was opened in this area. When the construction of Spice Bazaar was completed in 1664, this part of Istanbul was already populated with hundreds of coffeehouses. It is also worth noting that besides spice, coffee was one of the major items of trade as well at that time.