The Bazaar

… once inside you stand bewildered. It is not an edifice, but a labyrinth of arcaded streets flanked by sculptured columns and pilasters; a real city, with its mosques, fountains, crossways and squares, dimly lighted like a thick wood into which no ray of sunlight penetrates; and filled with dense throngs of people…. You may linger a whole day in one bazaar, unconscious of the flight of time; for example, the bazaar of stuffs, and clothing. It is an emporium of beauty and riches enough to ruin your eyes, your brains, and your pocket; and you must be on your guard, for a caprice might bring upon you the consequence of sending for help by telegraph. --description of the bazaar in the nineteenth century from Constantinople by Edmondo de Amicis.