Merhaba, My Friends
Posted on April 20th, 2009 by jitterbugbaby under Boots, GeneralI’ve just come back from a jaunt through Turkey, where merhaba means hello and (more importantly for us here) ayakkabılar means shoes.
Did I buy shoes while I was there?
Well… no.
Surprise, right?
But I can point out the shoes that I was most tempted to buy.
No, it wasn’t the beaded “harem slippers” that were on sale to tourists EVERYWHERE.
(photo from e-turkey.net)
It wasn’t the standard designer knock-offs that seemed to be in every other booth at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
It was the Suzani boots.
Suzani textiles are traditionally from Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan) and I’ve more often seen them woven into carpets and rugs. There were certainly plenty of those all over Turkey. And as rugs, they seem a bit much to me.
But the boots? The boots sucked me in.
They’re not my usual style at all. But they did remind me a bit of the Tatar boots seen way back here at the MFA in Boston for their Walk This Way exhibition.
And up close some of them are really gorgeous. Here are a few examples (each helpfully linked to its for-sale page if you find yourself inclined in a purchasing direction). All of them are for sale right now for about $145.
That last pair is probably my fave. There’s a huge variety of these shoes for sale all throughout Turkey, and all right, so they’re not exactly a neutral basic, but just imagine how amazing they’d look with a basic black turtleneck/skirt outfit.
Maybe all the Turkish delights have gone to my brain. Am I nuts, dear readers? Are these the height of fug? Or a quirky, fun statement-piece shoe?
- Shoes so edible I can’t stop salivating
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- GoldenBleu Warehouse Shoe Sale








Piperlime
April 20th, 2009 at 3:28 pm
They are nice! I’d love some… great details!
April 20th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
haha.. I’m turkish..
I don’t have the pointed harem shoes.. they are more touristic accessories than wearable shoes..
but not knowing these suzani boots.. made me laugh =)..
I should go more often to grand bazaar..=)…
did you have the oppotunuty of seeing some of turkish modern style designed shoes..
http://www.hotic.com.tr/ and http://www.derimod.com.tr/eng/default.html
I would love to hear your opinion about these too..=)
April 21st, 2009 at 12:45 am
Wow amazing craftsmanship!
You should have gotten a pair.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:16 am
nice footwear… your blog is nicely written.
April 21st, 2009 at 1:37 am
Hey… as a Turkish gril living in Switzerland I must tell you that you have missed out a very, very nice shoeshop called Hotic. (not to find on markets and bazars but in shopping centers).
ps. Don’t like at all the shoes you have posted.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:54 am
Definitely a beautiful and quirky statement boot! I really love the second pair (but I’m a sucker for combos of blue and yellow).
April 21st, 2009 at 10:40 am
I bought some of these in Turkey, not to comfortable
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:30 am
wow i was surprised when i saw merhaba on your blog since i am a shoeaddict turkish girl living in istanbul.
they are definitely touristic and not to be used in daily life, except as a accesory while shooting a movie!
I hope you spent great time in our magnificent city.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 am
not my usual style too but rather cute.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 am
oooooh i want a pair!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
The turkish word for shoes is awful - unlike the turkish shoes themselves, certainly )
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I’ve gotta say, friends, that it’s nice to see so many Turks reading. I fell completely in love with the country while I was there. And I think it’s a good thing I didn’t know about Hotiç, because some of those shoes are seriously çok güzel.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:23 pm
[...] ShoeBlog writer jitterbugbaby reports on the Suzani boots that tempted her in [...]
April 25th, 2009 at 10:51 am
:))
April 27th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hi, I know where you can buy these boots in USA, there is a shop in Carmel, California which sells them, http://www.artemisarte.com
They also have a branche in Istanbul, called Sultan House, Divanyolu Cad 60
at Sultanahmet-Istanbul. Funny enough these boots are very popular by Western European but the Turks themselves are not wearing them
June 25th, 2009 at 6:52 am
I think these boots are incredibly gorgeous and I disagree with the poster who said they’re not for daily wear, just for tourists and a shooting a movie…what? And they happen to be comfortable, or at least the ones made by Artemis Arte…which I don’t think are the ones in the picture because the heels are different from the ones in the shop in Carmel. I happen to be buying them to sell in my shop in San Jose, CA and I have gotten great response to them when I’ve worn my pair to see if they would appeal to my customers. Personally, I would wear every style and am pretty sure they will sell. They’re VERY comfortable too, and that’s saying a lot, since I have very bad feet and nothing feels good on me. You should definitely have bought a pair, but you can get them next time, or from me! LOL I’m crazy about them. It’s like wearing art.