Winter is often wet and grey.
Also for traditional Turkish tourist stuff such as carpets, leather and jewellery, go to Cagaloglu area or Sultanahmet area in the Old City. Classy, trendy shops can be found in Beyoglu or Osmanbey areas in the New City . Apart from being historically and architecturally spectacular, with a skyline of mosques and minarets, Istanbul is the only city in the world that lies on two continents. It stands at the point where East meets West , and is a bubbling stew of different, colourful cultures . It's a superb place for shopping, too.