At the Türkenmarkt in Berlin with Jessica Hannan

Fashion editor turned perfumer Jessica Hannan takes us to the The Turkish Market, her all time favourite market in Berlin

Hi Jessica, tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a fashion editor (I was fashion director Sleek Magazine for 3 years) turned perfumer with my brand Apotheke Perfume. I have a perfume quiz which helps read your ‘perfume personality’ much like tarot cards or horoscopes, tells you if you are The Thinker/Traveller/Dreamer/Lover. I started with an aromatherapy studio in Neukolln, then started profiling people based on their tastes and personalities and found there four main types of people who like four types of scent. All my identity is based around Tarot, it’s very witchy and fun!

What is your favorite market and what is your connection to it?

My all time favourite market is The Turkish Market on Maybachufer in Neukölln in Berlin on Tuesdays and Fridays. It’s a perfect reflection of the area, Turkish grandmas stocking up on bundles of fresh fruit and veg, hippies playing guitars and buying palo santo, tourists eating Gozleme and Borek, coffee, cheese, and flowers. It’s scruffy and unpretentious, it never fails to make me happy. I love to take my daughters there in the summer, twice a week, cycle them on my kinder trailer, and buy hair ribbons and Salep (sweet milk with nutmeg) and just see who we bump into.

My brother busked there for a while, and we always end up seeing someone we know. I get inspired by the Turkish fruit and veg sellers for what we will cook for dinner, in the summer you can get a kilo of baby plum tomatoes for 99 cents. Top tip: go on a Tuesday! There are less tourists than on Fridays, and in the winter and earlier in the morning. In winter if I have to meet a client I’ll suggest a cafe near there so I can wander through after and grab some pomegranates or bouquets of dill.

What are your top 3 favourite things you can buy at the Türkischer Markt?

Gozleme, tomatoes by the kilo and big bunches of seasonal herbs.

What is your favourite stall/small business at the Türkischer Markt?

There’s a great cheese stall, good cheese is hard to find in Berlin, I once stood behind a French lady who seemed to know what to order and just copied her order, it was a great order! Also there’s a girl selling big bottles of ginger shots and my daughter’s love the ribbon stall for hair ribbons. We love the Gozleme guys, try the blumenkohl puffer, and the fruit and veg sellers.

Tell us about a memorable encounter you had at Türkischer Markt!

You see the odd fashion shoot, or Berlin club kids crawling home from partying, or live bands playing, and we always bump into someone we know. My daughters have worked out that if they take empty baskets then the sellers give them strawberries and flowers and slices of watermelon for free!

Why do you think it’s important for people to visit markets in general?

Markets are a constant in people’s lives, a destination. I know for sure during some of my hardest times with little babies not sleeping, just getting up and going to the market lifted my spirits and got me out the house. The music, the crowds, the smell of fresh mint and frying gozleme, it’s so invigorating, the colours of the flowers and citrus fruit!

Click here for the market page of the Türkischer Markt

Market ambassador: Jessica Hannan, perfumer and founder of Apotheke Perfume

Do the perfume personality quiz here!

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