Located behind the Sultanahmet Mosque, the Arasta Bazaar was built in the same period and served as a shopping center. Today, with around seventy shops, there are many kinds of rugs, carpets and ceramics sold here. As a result of archeological excavations in the area, mosaics forming part of the Great Palace of Constantinople were unearthed nearby and are today exhibited in the Istanbul Great Palace Mosaic Museum.

The Bazaar was severely damaged in a fire which broke out in 1912 and for a long time it remained in ruins. A restoration project was initiated in the 1980’s and as a result the Bazaar regained much of its charm and importance.