Pilot Films - Bazaar: Series 2 (2014)

Bazaar is the ultimate TV guide to traveling the planet. Watch how the beautiful people live as our travellers guide you through the cultural and aesthetic delights of some the world’s most renowned cities.

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Part 1: London Design City
Kate Comer visits one of the great capitals of the 21st century, London. She explores this great city that boasts of a vibrant, creative, and stimulating melting pot in which culture, arts, architecture, gastronomy, economics and politics thrive together. Arriving at the famous St. Pancras International station by Eurostar, Kate checks herself straight into the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel right on the station’s doorstep. She meets up with the owner Harry Handleson to find out more about this epic Victorian masterpiece that has been recently restored to its full glory.

Part 2: Buenos Aires
Judith Jones explores one of South America’s most stylish cities – the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. One of the best things to buy in Argentina is leather, which is reasonably priced and of very high quality. Judith visits Casa Lopez, one of Buenos Aires’ most famous and exclusive leather shops, where apart from the more usual leather products, she checks out some exquisite items made from South American rodents – jackets made from capybara skin, and some fabulously soft chinchilla furs.

Part 3: London Heritage Shops
Ever wondered where the Royal Family get their groceries? Or where they shop for fine threads? Then take a look at our guide to shopping like a Royal! With its rich history, Kate Comer visits one of the great capitals of the 21st century, London. She explores some of the world-renowned heritage establishments that have stood the testament of time.

Part 4: Treasures of the Islamic World
In this programme, we travel across the Islamic World to appreciate some of its more unusual and fascinating treasures. In Aleppo, Syria, said to be the oldest city in the world, Holly Morris finds out how its renowned ‘Aleppo soap’ is manufactured. Made from olive oil and bay laurel, the soap has been created in the same way for centuries, and is as keenly desired by customers today as it always has been. A few hundred miles south, in the Jordanian desert, Bobby Chinn explores an 8th century pleasure-palace, Quseir Amra, famous for the unique and beautiful figurative frescoes that adorn the walls and ceilings of its reception hall and hammam. Not far from Istanbul, Adela Ucar visits the sleepy town of Iznik, which at the height of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th and 16th centuries was crowded with hundreds of kilns making some of history’s most exquisite ceramics.

Part 5: Zanzibar
Zanzibar – Spice Island, honeymoon destination and an Aladdin’s cave of exotic antiques brought over by the Arab and Indian traders who were carried here 200 years ago by the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean. Bazaar traveller Brianna Barnes explores Zanzibar’s streets in search of great and rare objects of desire. In the heart of the Capital, Stone Town, Brianna visits an art gallery selling Tinga Tinga paintings – canvases painted in the style of the famous 1960s Tanzanian artist, Edward Said Tinga Tinga. Brianna discovers that the gallery’s artist is none other than the grandson of Edward Tinga Tinga who throws interesting light on this iconic style of art which has permeated East Africa.

Part 6: Sicily
Judith Jones visits the beautiful Mediterranean island of Sicily. Having been heavily influenced by invaders ranging from the Greeks and Romans to the Carthaginians, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and French this place is a veritable treasure trove for the serious shoppers of the world. Basing herself in Sicily’s second city of Catania, Judith immerses herself in local life by firstly visiting the fish and vegetable market then paying a visit to the vineyard situated on the outskirts of the city, built on the slopes of Mount Etna, one of Europe’s most active volcanoes.

Part 7: Lisbon
Once the stomping ground of Romans, Moors and Crusaders, this historic hillside city has culture, cobblestones, cafes, cable cars and cod aplenty. Sprawling across 7 hills, overlooking the River Tagus and the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon offers a wealth of cityscape vistas. We head to the medieval Castelo de Sao, and the arabesque hilltop gardens of Miradouro de S�o Pedro de Alcantara. We hop on the Santa Justa Elevator (designed by one of Gustave Eiffel’s apprentices) to the top of Cristo Rei, where we visit Palacio de Belem – not forgetting to sample the area’s legendary cinnamon-dusted custard tarts washed down with a Galau - coffee served milky and sweet in a glass.

Part 8: Istanbul
In Bazaar Istanbul, Flora Montgomery visits Istanbul, famously the only city in the world that stretches over two continents, which has made it a major stopping point for trade travelling from east to west. Laden with history, craftsmanship and modern design Istanbul is a shopping paradise that caters to every need. Flora’s first stop is the Grand Bazaar, a beautiful maze of stone and marble that was built in the 15th century by the city’s first Ottoman ruler. It is still among the world’s largest covered markets and offers everything from carpets to jewellery, pottery, and tourist tat. The key is to know where to look!

Part 9: Peru
Now on most travellers’ hotlists, Peru offers mouth-watering gastronomy, archaeological delights and stunning colonial architecture. But perhaps most importantly, this South American country has been modernised without losing any of its traditional heritage. Once the Inca capital of Peru, Cuzco is now the traveller’s capital and Brianna Barnes heads there to discovery why. At over 3,500m above sea level, this Andean city may be one of the most beautiful cities in the Americas, but it’s certainly one of the hardest to breathe in. Luckily for Brianna she is staying in Palacio Nazarenas, one of the few boutique hotels that offer extra oxygen in the rooms to help visitors acclimatise. After checking in she visits the Coca Museum and is given an introduction to the rather more prolific remedy for altitude sickness – coca leaves.

Part 10: Provence
Provence is one of the most beautiful and most varied regions of France that stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to the mountains of the Vaucluse. It makes for a great variety of geography and climates and that is reflected in its culture, produce and craftsmanship. Each town seems to have its own idiosyncrasies and specialities making it a wonderful shopping destination. Kate Comer starts her journey in Nice, once the winter residence of Europe’s upper crust where she admires the fine art and architecture of the Negresco Hotel that caters to an exclusive clientele to this day. The market gives her a taste for the region’s craftsmanship, such as the colourful Provencal cottons that depict the local countryside in their unique designs. Nature’s abundance is a recurring theme in Provencal craft, including pottery.