"This is one of the greatest shopping cities in the world, the gateway between Europe and Asia, where you can buy a fur hat from a former Soviet soldier, an emerald direct from the mines of Afghanistan, or unearth a dainty antique armoire in a backstreet junk shop. There are no less than a dozen markets to entice shoppers of all kinds, from Byzantine scholars looking for rare books to stout headscarved housewives in search of a new plastic fly-swatter."

Read this article.