Shopping at Ayasofya for spices and nougat

Best find of the trip! With endless options for sweets and spices in Istanbul, we got very lucky the first night and found a great one very near our hotel, Ayasofya. The smells of all the spices and teas, absolute heaven. Such interesting blends, we bought so many I cannot wait to try. They sample everything so we immediately fell for the first slice of their most popular nougat, made with almonds. [add name] was so helpful, it was easier to narrow down the spices and candies to buy with his guidance (and good thing we had 32kg bag allowance!). One of the most interesting finds was the menthol crystals, which are dropped in boiling water and you gently breathe in to fully clear your sinuses.  They came in very handy this trip!