Turkish authorities’ tight control over financial markets has put Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar at the center of the country’s commercial activity, as the covered market, built in the 15th century, has become a haven for currency traders trying to escape the restrictions. government to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, reports Bloomberg, citing Agerpres.

This event also led to the emergence of a parallel exchange rate of the Turkish lira in the Grand Bazaar.

As restrictions on Turkish banks have tightened in recent weeks as the election date approaches, this parallel exchange rate has become even more volatile.

“Whatever you do, don’t hold the Turkish lira. Even buying feta cheese is a better investment,” said a veteran gold and currency trader at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid possible repercussions.

Currency transactions in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar are legal and mostly unregistered, making it difficult to estimate the volume of daily transactions. But exchangers say business has exploded, largely thanks to corporate clients.

Huge safes escorted by security guards pass through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar every day, which witnesses say carry dollars for a number of major Turkish firms, including state-owned energy importer BOTAS, which is the market’s biggest currency buyer.

Money traders in the Grand Bazaar believe that the pound will collapse after the election

Traders say that the reason for the rise in prices is the demand for the currency from companies. Being able to sell and buy dollars outside of the restrictions imposed on commercial banks comes at a price. According to Bloomberg, the US currency is available in the Grand Bazaar at a markup of more than 5% compared to the interest rate in the interbank market.

For example, at 12:30 on Wednesday at the Grand Bazaar, one dollar was selling for 20.40 pounds, while the official exchange rate was 19.4082 pounds. The difference between the dollar/lira exchange rate in the Grand Bazaar and the bank rate has steadily increased throughout the year as Turkey’s Central Bank stepped up measures to keep the lira under control ahead of parliamentary elections.

But the gap has widened recently after politicians asked banks to limit their purchases of dollars. Even outside the Grand Bazaar, the lira’s devaluation trend began to gain momentum.

The frequency with which small fluctuations in the lira exchange rate occur, especially in the first hours after the start of operations, has increased, suggesting that the authorities are having difficulty in countering the demand for dollars.

“There are general expectations that the lira will suddenly depreciate after the elections. This, combined with the Central Bank’s rules against buying dollars, has led to increased demand in the spot market here,” said another gold and currency trader in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.