# What should you buy at a Turkish supermarket or weekly pazar, and which Turkish foods are worth the suitcase space?

> Turkish supermarkets and weekly pazars sell excellent spices, molasses and cheese. What to buy, when the pazar comes to your neighbourhood, and what travels.

- Source: https://clevertourists.com/resources/what-to-buy-at-a-grocery-store-in-turkey
- Authors: Evan & Clara, Clever Tourists (first-hand, from years of travel across 20 countries)
- Published: 2026-04-21

Turkey has two shopping systems that barely overlap. The **discount chains** — **BİM**, **A101** and **Şok** — are where most households buy staples, with a small rotating range and very low prices. **Migros**, **Carrefour** and **Macrocenter** are the full supermarkets. And once a week, on a fixed day, a **pazar** sets up on a street in every neighbourhood and sells produce at prices the supermarkets cannot match.

## Find out which day the pazar comes

Every neighbourhood has a weekly market on a set day, and locals know it the way they know the bin collection. Streets close, stalls go up at dawn and come down in the evening.

Produce is fresher and cheaper than the supermarket, and the range is much wider — several kinds of aubergine, dozens of greens, and whatever is in season that week.

Prices are sometimes marked and sometimes quoted, and a little good-humoured bargaining is normal at the edges of the market though not in the supermarket.

Ask at your hotel which day and where; it is the single most useful shopping question in Turkey.

## The pantry that defines the cuisine

**Pul biber** is the mild, flaky red pepper, and **İsot** is the darker, smokier pepper from Urfa. Both are used as condiments at the table, not just in cooking.

**Nar ekşisi** is pomegranate molasses, sour and syrupy, used on salads and grilled vegetables. It is the most useful bottle to bring home.

**Sumak** is the dried, sour sumac berry, sprinkled on onions and salads.

**Tahini** and **pekmez** (grape molasses) are eaten together at breakfast, and **kaymak** is the thick clotted cream that goes with honey.

## Cheese, cured meat and sweets

**Beyaz peynir** is the white brined cheese, sold in tins and blocks, and it is the breakfast cheese.

**Kaşar** is the yellow melting cheese, and **tulum** is the sharp, crumbly aged one.

**Sucuk** is the fermented sausage with garlic and pepper, and **pastırma** is the air-dried cured beef. Both travel well.

**Lokum** (Turkish delight) and **baklava** are the sweets, and the good versions come from shops rather than the airport. Pistachio baklava from Gaziantep is the reference point.

## Tea, coffee and seasons

**Çay** is the everyday tea, grown around Rize on the Black Sea, and it is drunk from small tulip glasses all day.

**Türk kahvesi** is the fine-ground coffee cooked in a *cezve*, served with a glass of water.

**Figs** from Aydın and **pomegranates** in autumn are the seasonal highlights, and citrus comes from the Mediterranean coast in winter.

**Ramadan** changes supermarket hours and the evening shelf, and **Kurban Bayramı** empties shops for several days.

## Frequently asked questions

### What day is the pazar in Turkey?

It varies by neighbourhood. Each area has a fixed weekly market day, and hotels or locals can tell you which day yours falls on.

### What is nar eksisi?

Pomegranate molasses, a sour syrup used on salads and grilled vegetables. It is the most useful Turkish ingredient to bring home.

### What food souvenirs travel well from Turkey?

Pomegranate molasses, pul biber, sumac, sucuk, pastırma and pistachio sweets. Cheese and fresh bread do not.

### Are BİM and A101 cheaper than Migros?

Generally yes. The discount chains carry a smaller rotating range at lower prices, while Migros and Carrefour have a fuller selection.