Istanbul's Charming Tradition That Tourists Should Know About Before Shopping Locally

If there is one word to know before going on your first trip to Turkey, it is the word "çay." Right after "hello" (merhaba) and "thank you" (teşekkür ederim), you are going to hear and see this more than anything else. Çay (pronounced "chai" but not at all related to chai tea) is Turkish black tea, and it is absolutely integral to Turkish lifestyle and culture. The locals drink çay as if it were a natural spring bubbling up from the earth, and Turkey boasts the highest tea consumption per capita in the world. As a traveler, you will encounter this beverage everywhere — and not only in cafés and restaurants as you dine.

You will be able to experience for yourself one of the most charming traditions of deep-seated tea culture in Istanbul when you peruse local shops. In most stores that you enter, the shop owner will greet you warmly and (assuming you are polite back) ask, "Çay?", almost hopefully. It is a simple traditional gesture of hospitality, welcoming you graciously into their space. At first, you might suspiciously think they are trying to trick you into buying something, but there are no expectations of purchasing from them. In fact, it could actually be considered impolite to decline! Rather than returning a slight affront to their warmth, it would be best to accept. After all, travel is all about saying yes, right?

The store owner will disappear into the back for a minute or so, making you wonder if you said something to upset them, and suddenly they will reappear with a steaming tulip-shaped cup of black tea in their hands. It is semi-impractical since shopping is easier with two hands, but it is a gesture so charming that it's always worth it.

Even for travelers who prefer not to collect trinkets and memorabilia on the road, shopping in Istanbul is truly a delightful, stimulating activity in of itself. With gorgeous jewelry, handwoven tapestries, evil eye ornaments, and vibrant ceramics, it is a delight to browse the local wares and goods. From the Grand Bazaar, the king of shopping malls where sensory overload is imminent and there are more than 5,000 stores, to the quieter antique shops tucked under colorful awnings in Beyoğlu, there are a ton of fascinating stores to check out. Interacting with the shop owners is one of the coolest parts!

As a tourist in Turkey, you can mostly expect respectful and gracious manners from locals. Known for their hospitality, locals are generally happy to interact, get to know where you came from, and offer insights into their beloved city. Even putting conversation aside with language barriers, they have an ease of presence which you experience as they offer you a çay. Yes, this generosity probably cost them only a few cents, but honestly, when was the last time you were offered anything out of the kindness of a heart when traveling in the U.S. or Europe? 

Shopping in Istanbul can turn into gentle haggling, and you may walk away with humorous memories. When I was in Istanbul, one shop owner was amusingly enthusiastic about me walking out with something in my hands because of his irrefutable logic: "You are my first customer of the day, and it's bad luck if you leave empty-handed." After my continued indecisiveness, he offered it for free. I was boggled as I looked into his dead-serious face, but this is not an unheard-of story. 

Not intended to be a smart marketing ploy on their part (although the kindness does make you more open to purchase), this simple generous gesture sets the tone of mutual respect and kindness, whether or not you buy from them. In another shop, I had selected a few presents for my family, and after paying, the shop owner, instead of pushing me out of the shop now that the deed was done, asked me if I would like a çay. He proceeded to sit down with me calmly and sip his tea gravely as if we were cohorts of several years, and we had a 20-minute conversation over Google Translate.

Çay is a vital piece of culture and tradition in Turkey. It is a staple in daily diet and routine, integral to social life and interactions ranging from family settings to business transactions. It is a symbol of open-hearted hospitality and welcome. You will see locals lounging at street cafés, cigarette in one hand and çay in the other, and older folk arguing with friends over backgammon with their tea cups nearby.

Surprisingly, tea's integral part in Turkish tradition didn't come into being until the 1900s. Before this modern shift, coffee was considered the popular national beverage. The increasing expense of importation, as well as the difficulty to produce coffee on national soil, turned the tide towards tea. The most common type of tea you will find comes from the province of Rize on the coast of the Black Sea, and tea production is now one of the leading agricultural products of Turkey. Different regions of Turkey have developed different brewing and preparation rituals, which further enrich Turkish tea culture. Çay is generally taken without milk in a tiny glass cup, sporting a robust flavor and deep rust color. 

Be sure to say yes when offered çay at the local shops, and respond with the same level of respect that they grant you in order to be a considerate visitor when visiting Turkey. And if you are not a tea drinker — here is where you expand your palette! Because you're not just saying yes to çay, you are saying yes to taking part in a Turkish tradition!