The Bazaar of Tabriz ( fa, بازار تبریز, also

Romanize Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, a ...

d as ''Bāzār-e Tabriz'') is a historical market situated in the city center of

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. It is one of the oldest

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

s in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and the largest covered bazaar in the world. It is one of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

History

has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity. Its historic bazaar complex is one of the most important commercial centres on the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and rel ...

. A bazaar has existed on the same site since the early periods of Iranian urbanism following Islam. The bazaar was mentioned by the Venetian traveler

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

, who claimed to have passed through it while journeying on the Silk Road.

Al-Maqdisi Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Maqdisī ( ar, شَمْس ٱلدِّيْن أَبُو عَبْد ٱلله مُحَمَّد ابْن أَحْمَد ابْن أَبِي بَكْر ٱلْمَقْدِسِي), ...

in 10th century,

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known for ...

in ca. 1213 CE,

Zakariya al-Qazwini Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ar, أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known as Qazvini ( fa, قزوینی), born in Qazvin (Iran) and died 1283, was a Persian cosmographer and geographer of Arab anc ...

in ca.

1252 CE Year 1252 ( MCCLII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * April 6 – Saint Peter of Verona is assassinated by Carino of Balsamo. * May 15 – P ...

in 1271 CE, Odoric of Pordenone in ca. 1321 CE,

Ibn Battuta Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...

in ca.

1330 CE Year 1330 ( MCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * July 28 – Battle of Velbazhd: The Bulgarians under Tsar Michael Shishman (who i ...

Ambrogio Contarini Ambrogio Contarini (1429 – 1499) was a Venetian nobleman, merchant and diplomat known for an account of his travel to Iran.Bertotti, Filippo (1992), "Contarini, Ambrogio", in: ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', Vol. VI, Fasc. 2, p. 220Online (Accessed Fe ...

in 1474 CE,

Hamdallah Mustawfi Hamdallah Mustawfi Qazvini ( fa, حمدالله مستوفى قزوینی, Ḥamdallāh Mustawfī Qazvīnī; 1281 – after 1339/40) was a Persian official, historian, geographer and poet. He lived during the last era of the Mongol Ilkhanate, a ...

in around 13th to 14th century, John Cartwright in 1606 CE,

Jean Chardin Jean Chardin (16 November 1643 – 5 January 1713), born Jean-Baptiste Chardin, and also known as Sir John Chardin, was a French jeweller and traveller whose ten-volume book ''The Travels of Sir John Chardin'' is regarded as one of the finest ...

at the time of

Suleiman I of Persia Suleiman I (; born Sam Mirza, February or March 1648 – 29 July 1694) was the eighth and the penultimate Shah of Safavid Iran from 1666 to 1694. He was the eldest son of Abbas II and his concubine, Nakihat Khanum. Born as Sam Mirza, Suleiman s ...

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) was a 17th-century French gem merchant and traveler. Tavernier, a private individual and merchant traveling at his own expense, covered, by his own account, 60,000 leagues in making six voyages to Persia ...

in ca. 1636 CE,

Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri (1651–1725) was a seventeenth-century Italian adventurer and traveler. He was among the first Europeans to tour the world by securing passage on ships involved in the carrying trade; his travels, undertaken for p ...

in ca. 1642 CE and dozens of other explorers and historians have written about the Bazaar of Tabriz, which shows its importance and significance during the different periods of time. Located in the center of the city of

, the structure is divided into rows, many devoted to particular categories of product. These include Amir Bazaar (for gold and jewelry), Mozzafarieh (hand woven rugs, sorted by knot size and type), Bashmakhchi Bazaar (shoes), Kiz Basdi Bazaar, and Rahli Bazaar (produce). Tabriz and its bazaar were at their most prosperous in the 16th century, when the town became the capital city of the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

kingdom. The city lost this status in the 17th century, but its bazaar has remained important as a commercial and economic hub in the region and on the silk road. Although numerous modern shops and malls have been established in recent years, Tabriz Bazaar has kept its vital role as economic hub of the city and northwestern Iran. Tabriz Bazaar has also been a place of political significance, for instance in the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution ( fa, مشروطیت, Mashrūtiyyat, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a par ...

and in the contemporary

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

. The bazaar was inscribed as a

in July 2010.

Ceremonies

The bazaar is used for some important religious ceremonies. The most famous one is

Day of Ashura A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two s ...

during which merchants cease trading for about 10 days and religious ceremonies are held inside the bazaar. Like other bazaars in Middle East, there are several mosques constructed behind the bazaar, the most notable of them being Jome' Mosque.

Restoration

In 2000, the Historical Hermitages Organization of Iran begin a restoration project of the Bazaar, with the full participation of the shop owners. The rehabilitation project won the

Aga Khan Award for Architecture The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Muslim societies in the field ...

in 2013.

Photo gallery

File:Mozzaffariyeh 2.jpg, Mozaffarieh, a major row for hand woven rugs in Tabriz Grand Bazaar. File:Ceiling of Mozaffariyeh, Grand Bazzar of Tabriz, IRAN.jpg, Mozaffariyeh, Bazaar of Tabriz. File:Mozaffariyeh Arcade.jpg, One of two entrance gates to Mozzafariyeh. File:Bazaar of Tabriz - April 2009.jpg, Dome in Amir row of Bazaar. File:Amir Timche.jpg, َCarvansaray near Amir row. File:Bazaar of Tabriz, carvaansray.jpg, A Carvansaray in Bazaar of Tabriz. File:Gan-Dallazan Bazar, Tabriz, Iran.jpg, Gan Bazaar, a row in Tabriz Grand Bazaar. File:Gan-Dallazan Bazar II, Tabriz, Iran.jpg, Gan Bazaar, translates to wider bazaar, a row in Tabriz Grand Bazaar. File:Tabriz Grand Bazar.jpg File:The world heritage base of Tabriz historical market complex 1.jpg File:Beautiful architecture tabriz bazaar.jpg File:Bazar 105.jpg File:Tabriz Bazar 002.jpg File:Tabriz Bazar 003.jpg File:Tabriz Bazar 001.jpg File:Amiralley-Tabriz.JPG File:Bazaar of Tabriz.JPG File:Bazaar of gold, tabriz.jpg File:The_Bazar_at_Tabriz.jpg File:Carpet Bazaar of Tabriz.JPG File:CarpetBazaar.Tabriz.jpg File:CarpetBazaar2.Tabriz.jpg File:Iran bazar tabriz street scene.jpg File:Tabriz-Carpet_Bazaar.jpg File:TabrizBazaar.JPG File:TabrizBazar.jpg

References

External links

Tishineh

(audio slideshow with English subtitles). Jadid Online. {{Portalbar, Iran Bazaars Bazaars in Iran

Architecture in Iran Shopping malls established in the 16th century Tourist attractions in Tabriz World Heritage Sites in Iran National works of Iran