Cem’s tribute to Sarah Jessica Parker, who visited his textile shop last year

I am strolling through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar when a vendor stops me. “Come, see this,” he says, beckoning me into his textile shop. He leads me to the back of the room and points to a wall covered with magnificent handwoven textiles, decorative hangings … and a photo collage featuring Sarah Jessica Parker, circa season six of Sex and the City.

“She was here,” he says, beaming.

I ask him to tell me more; he pours me a cup of apple tea and starts from the beginning.

Textile shop at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

Cem (pronounced “Jim”) tells me that Parker and husband Matthew Broderick stopped by his stall late last year. At first, Cem says, he didn’t recognize her. I look at the photo they took together during the visit; she’s in an oversize Obama T-shirt and no makeup, and I barely recognize her either. Cem tells me that Parker and Broderick dropped more than $10,000 at the shop and walked away with nine embroidered blankets and an assortment of other gifts and souvenirs.

Ten grand certainly isn’t chump change, especially in Turkey. But after a quick survey of the shop’s offerings, it wasn’t hard for me to see why SJP was so enamored. Traditional embroidery covered everything from blankets to boots, and the pashmina scarves, available in every color of the rainbow, were indescribably soft. Cem tells me that everything on display is handwoven using materials from Uzbekistan and Anatolia, in eastern Turkey. I took a cue from my favorite fashionista and selected a soft silk scarf to take home.

Pashmina scarves from Cem’s textile shop in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

Painted floral-patterned boots from Cem’s textile shop in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar