A bazaar or souk, is a permanently enclosed marketplace or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold.
The term bazaar originates from the Persian word bāzār. The term bazaar is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work in that area. Although the word "bazaar" is of Persian origin, its use has spread and now has been accepted into the vernacular in countries around the world.
The term souk (Arabic : سوقsuq, Hebrew : שוקshuq, Syriac: ܫܘܩܐ shuqa, Armenian : շուկաshuka, Spanish: zoco, also spelled souq, shuk, shooq, soq, esouk, succ, suk, sooq, suq, soek) is used in Western Asian, North African and some Horn African cities (Amharic : ሱቅ sooq). [1] [2]
Name | Location | Picture | Notes |
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Ardabil Bazaar | Ardabil | Ardabil Bazaar is a bazaar built during Safavid Dynasty in Ardabil, north-western Iran. In the 4th century historians described the bazaar as a building in the shape of the cross with a domed ceiling. It was constructed during the Safavid dynasty from the 16th to 18th century and renovated through the Zand dynasty in the 18th century. [3] | |
Bazaar of Borujerd | Borujerd | Great Bazaar of Borujerd is located in the centre of the city and consists of many Rasteh Bazaars and Caravanserais. A Rasteh Bazaar is a lane with covered roof usually with shops and workshops of a particular profession. Some of the important Rasteh Bazaars of Borujerd are:
Caravansaries have been used for trading as well as accommodation of business people. Today, caravansaries of Borujerd are important centre of wholesale or regional, national or international trading of Persian rug and other handicrafts. | |
Bazaar of Saqqez | Saqqez | Great Bazaar of Saqqez is located in the centre of the city and consists of many smaller bazaars and Caravanserais. | |
Bazaar of Shahrud | Shahrud | Shahrood market is related to the Qajar dynasty and is located in Shahrud, the old texture of the city. [4] [5] | |
Bazaar of Tabriz | Tabriz | The Bazaar of Tabriz is a historical market situated in the city center of Tabriz, Iran. It is one of the oldest bazaars in the Middle East and the largest covered bazaar in the world. [6] It is one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [7] | |
Grand Bazaar | Tehran | The area around Tehran has been settled since at least the 6th millennium BC, and while bazaar-like constructions in Iran as a whole have been dated as far back as the 4th millennium BC, Tehran's bazaar is not that old. It is hard to say exactly when the bazaar first appeared, but in the centuries after the Muslim conquest of Iran, travelers reported the growth of commerce in the area now occupied by the current bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is thus a continuation of this legacy. Research indicates that a portion of today's bazaar predated the growth of the village of Tehran by the time of the Safavid Empire, although it was during and after this period that the bazaar began to grow gradually. Western travelers reported that, by 1660 CE and beyond, the bazaar area had still been largely open and only partially covered. | |
Grand Bazaar | Isfahan | It was originally constructed during the 11th century, on the southwest wing of Jameh Mosque and Kohneh Square but various arcades and rooms were later added to it. The present remnant dates from the Safavid period, during which the Qaysariya Bazaar was built on the north wing of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, a square which was developed as a substitute for Kohneh Square. The bazaar, one of the oldest and largest bazaars in the Middle East, dates to Saljuqid and Safavid era and is the longest roofed market in the world. [8] The site has been destroyed several times and the contemporary bazaar dates to the 17th century. The bazaar is a vaulted two-kilometre street linking the old city with the new. [9] | |
Bazaar of Kashan | Kashan | Bazaar of Kashan is an old bazaar in the center of the city of Kashan, Iran. It is thought to have been built in the Seljuk era with renovations during the Safavid period. The bazaar has a famous architecture, especially at its Timche-ye Amin od-Dowleh section, where a grand light well was built in the 19th century. The bazaar is still in use and is a few miles in total length. In the bazaar's complex beside the main bazaars, there are several mosques, tombs, plazas, arcades, baths, and water reservoirs that each were constructed in a different period. | |
Saraye Moshir | Shiraz | Saraye Moshir is traditional Bazaar in Shiraz, Southern city of Iran. It was founded more than 250 years ago under the order of government general of Fars province in Shiraz named Mirza Abolhassan MoshirolMolk. It was made as bazaar in the first days of its establishment. hereafter the time passed and history began. In some days this place was used as a museum and also as a traditional restaurant and Tea-Serving center. After the revolution in Iran it was cloused for some years. then it began to become a place for making handcrafts and artful goods. till then up to now it has continued. | |
Vakil Bazaar | Shira | Vakil Bazaar is the main bazaar of Shiraz, Iran, located in the historical center of the city. It is thought that the market originally was established by the Buwayhids in the 11th century AD, and was completed mainly by the Atabaks of Fars, and was renamed after Karim Khan Zand only in the 18th century. The bazaar has beautiful courtyards, caravansarais, bath houses, and old shops which are deemed among the best places in Shiraz to buy Persian rugs, spices, copper handicrafts and antiques. Like other Middle Eastern bazaars, there are a few mosques and Imamzadehs constructed beside or behind the bazaar. |
Isfahan, from its ancient designation Aspadana and, later, Spahan in middle Persian, rendered in English as Ispahan, is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Region, Isfahan Province, Iran. It is located 406 kilometres south of Tehran and is the capital of Isfahan Province. The city has a population of approximately 1.9 million, making it the third-largest city in Iran, after Tehran and Mashhad, and the second-largest metropolitan area.
Tabriz is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the fifth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of volcanic cones in the Sahand and Eynali mountains, Tabriz's elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 metres above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that gently slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, 60 kilometres to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers, Tabriz is considered a summer resort. It was named World Carpet Weaving City by the World Crafts Council in October 2015 and Exemplary Tourist City of 2018 by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East and India. Bazaars in the Middle East were traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that had doors on each end and served as a city's central marketplace. Street markets are the European and North American equivalents.
A caravanserai was a roadside inn where travelers (caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa and Southeast Europe, most notably the Silk Road. Although many were located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the Islamic world, though they were often called by other names such as khan, wikala, or funduq.
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan, also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq, Turkey, the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Bazaar of Tabriz is a historical market situated in the city center of Tabriz, Iran. It is one of the oldest bazaars in the Middle East and the largest covered bazaar in the world. It is one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Iranian architecture or Persian architecture is the architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Its history dates back to at least 5,000 BC with characteristic examples distributed over a vast area from Turkey and Iraq to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and from the Caucasus to Zanzibar. Persian buildings vary from peasant huts to tea houses, and garden pavilions to "some of the most majestic structures the world has ever seen". In addition to historic gates, palaces, and mosques, the rapid growth of cities such as the capital Tehran has brought about a wave of demolition and new construction.
Chahar Bagh Boulevard is a historical avenue in Isfahan constructed in the Safavid era of Iran. This histories street is very similar to the Champs Elysees in paris,which some visitors called the champs Elysees of isfahan.
Iranian-Armenians, also known as Persian-Armenians, are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of their number in Iran range from 70,000 to 200,000. Areas with a high concentration of them include Tabriz, Tehran, Salmas and Isfahan's Jolfa quarter.
Vakil Bazaar is the main bazaar of Shiraz, Iran, located in the historical center of the city.
A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a souk, bazaar, a fixed mercado (Spanish), or itinerant tianguis (Mexico), or palengke (Philippines). Some markets operate daily and are said to be permanent markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be periodic markets. The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture, ambient and geographic conditions. The term market covers many types of trading, as market squares, market halls and food halls, and their different varieties. Thus marketplaces can be both outdoors and indoors, and in the modern world, online marketplaces.
The Grand Bazaar is a historical market located in Isfahan, Iran, also known as the Qeysarriyeh Bazaar, Qeysarie bazaar or Soltani bazaar. The main commercial activities in the Qeysarie bazaar are carpet and kilim selling.
The 2018–2019 Iranian general strikes were a series of protests that took place across Iran against the country's economic situation.