Entrance to the Grand Bazaar - Gate 1

In From Russia With Love, when Bond arrives in Istanbul he is driven to the office of Ali Kerim, the head of the British Secret Service's "Station T" Turkey. Kerim's office is located inside the famous Grand Bazaar, a location that Bond would visit again in Skyfall. Bond's Rolls Royce arriving at at the Grand Bazaar in front of the Nuruosmanyie Mosque has been covered here earlier. Bond and the chauffeur is seen entering the Grand Bazaar through the main entrance gate.

In a very brief sequence, one of the streets just outside of Gate 1 is seen. This street is called Ç. Nuruosmaniye Cadessi. In the background you can also spot the crowd watching the filming. Crowd control was a huge problem during the filming of From Russia With Love, which is apparent in several scenes.

Bond and the chauffeur enter the Bazaar through the main entrance, Gate 1.

Later, after the meeting with Kerim Bey, Bond leaves in the Rolls Royce again and the stalking Bulgar watches as Donald Grant drives off in the Citroën. The main entrance gate, Gate 1 where Bond and the chauffeur have entered earlier, is seen again through the wall behind the Bulgar, in the picture above.

Arriving at the Grand Bazaar

In From Russia With Love, after being picked up at the airport by Ali Kerim's son, Bond is driven through Istanbul to meet with Kerim Bey in his office. Bond notices that a black Citroën is following them and he is told that they are Bulgarians working for the Russians. After driving past some typical Ottoman houses, the arrive at the Grand Bazaar. Kerim's son parks the Rolls Royce just outside the Bazaar.

They arrive at the Nuruosmaniye Mosque, located right next to the Grand Bazaar. The lower part of the mosque is visible in the film as the Rolls parks. The narrow road leading up to the mosque is today a walking street and you should not expect to be able to drive in with a car. Just outside the mosque is a large parking, mostly filled up with tourist buses.

The Grand Bazaar and the mosque can be found in the Çemberlitaş neighborhood in the Fatih District. The facade and the place in front of the mosque visible in the film has not changed notably since 1963 apart from the stone pavement.

Later, when Bond is driven back to his hotel after the meeting with Kerim Bey, the Rolls makes a turn on the small square. Behind it is the main entrance to the Grand Bazaar visible.

The Nuruosmaniye Mosque was constructed between 1748-1755 and is considered to be one of the finest examples of an Ottoman baroque style mosque.

The Bulgar is played by Hasan Ceylan, in reality an Istanbul born actor. Grant kills him in the Hagia Sophia church later in the film.

The film team had major problems with crowd control during filming, something that is apparent in several scenes in the film. In several scenes in the film, crowds are seen in the background, just as you do at the end of the road where the Rolls drives in. A major crowd is also visible when Bond, escorted by the chauffeur, is entering the bazaar. The entire bazaar, including Kerim Bey's rug shop, will be covered later.

Meeting with Colonel Klebb

One of the most fascinating Bond locations in all of Istanbul I dare say, must be the house where you can find the secret office of Colonel Klebb. Still believing that Klebb is the head of the Soviet intelligence, Tatiana Romanova is forced to lure Bond to Istanbul. The house with the small courtyard can be found in a most unexpected place, namely inside the Grand Bazaar.

These characteristic houses with a courtyard in the middle are called Hans and are part of the classic architecture of Istanbul. The Hans functioned as inns for traveling merchants for centuries. Here, the merchants could do business and rest over night. It is not surprising to find so many hans inside the bazaar, since the Grand Bazaar, naturally, has been a major hub for travelling merchants throughout the centuries. Most commonly, the Hans consisted of a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, just like this Han seen in the film. There were often an adjacent kitchen or tea house.

Today there is a lot of manufacturing going on in these Hans. The different Hans were often, and still are, dedicated to a certain craft, such as gold and silver manufacturing. You can primarily find chain manufacturing in the small shops of Zincirli Han. Both the courtyard and the second floor is open for tourists so you should take your time at this location. You may find some of the shops on the second floor open. The Zincirli Han is beautiful with its marble fountain and the tree in the middle of the courtyard.

Tania is coming up these stairs and continues down to the left as Grant hides behind the right pillar. The pink facade has been renovated and the old wooden doors have been replaced. The interior of Klebb's office was most likely shot in Pinewood Studios.

"Moscow has kept my defection secret from everyone but a few members of the presidium."
                - Klebb to Blofeld during the SPECTRE meeting -

Given the numbers of people that live, work or visit the Grand Bazaar every day, it is close to a city of its own in Istanbul. This is definitely one of the most interesting locations in the entire Istanbul, in part because it has been almost untouched since 1963, but also thanks to Lotte Lenya's splendid performance as the unpleasant and evil Spectre agent number three, Rosa Klebb. 

The bazaar is a maze and is rather easy to get lost in, but the Zincirli Han is fortunately well signposted.