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 |
---|---|---|---|
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 or Esfahan/Espahan is a major city in the Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located 440 kilometres south of Tehran. The city has a population of approximately 2,220,000, making it the third-most populous city in Iran, after Tehran and Mashhad, and the second-largest metropolitan area.
Tabriz is a city in the Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran.
A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets that have doors on each end and served as a city's central marketplace.
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. Often located along rural roads in the countryside, urban versions of caravanserais were also historically common in cities throughout the Islamic world, and were often called 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 and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to the north.
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.
Chahar Bagh Boulevard is a historical avenue in Isfahan constructed in the Safavid era of Iran. This historic street is very similar to the Champs-Élysées in Paris, which some visitors called the Champs-Élysées 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 500,000. Areas with a high concentration of them include Tabriz, Tehran, Salmas and New Julfa, Isfahan.
Vakil Bazaar is a bazaar of Shiraz, Iran, located in the center of the city.
A marketplace, market place, or just market, 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), 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, such as market squares, market halls, 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 market located in Isfahan, Iran, also known as the Qeysarriyeh Bazaar, Qeysarie bazaar or Soltani bazaar.
The 2018–2019 Iranian general strikesand protests were a series of strikes and protests that took place across Iran from early 2018 until mid-2019 against the country's economic situation, as well as the Iranian government, as part of the wider Iranian Democracy Movement.
The 2018 protests in Iran were a series mass protests and a popular uprising in June 2018 calling for better economic justice in Iran, the biggest wave of anti-government demonstrations since the 2017-2018 Iranian protests.