The old bazaar district (Çarşı) is Safranbolu's historic core and the reason the town is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The covered market at the centre, rebuilt after a fire in the 19th century, sells traditional goods — copper work, lokum (Turkish delight), saffron, and the hand-crafted leather shoes (yemeniler) that Safranbolu was once famous for producing. Around the market, the streets are lined with merchant's workshops and hans that have been trading in some form for centuries.
Walking into the bazaar from any direction reveals the texture of an Ottoman commercial district: narrow lanes, overhanging upper floors, the smell of fresh bread from the bakeries tucked into the side streets. The leather workshops in particular maintain something close to traditional methods. The bazaar is at its most atmospheric in the early morning before the day-tripper buses arrive from Ankara and Istanbul.