Grand Bazaar, Isfahan

"Qeysariyeh Bazaar" redirects here. For the bazaar in Lar, see Lar, Iran § Civilization.

The Grand Bazaar (Persian: بازار بزرگ, transliterated: Bāzār-e Bozorg) is a market located in Isfahan, Iran, also known as the Qeysarriyeh Bazaar (بازار قيصريه), Qeysarie bazaar or Soltani bazaar.

Qeysarie Bazaar
بازار قیصریه
Location within Iran
Alternative names	Soltani bazaar
General information
Status	Cultural
Type	bazaar
Architectural style	Isfahani
Location	Isfahan, Iran
Coordinates	32.6631°N 51.6753°E / 32.6631; 51.6753
Completed	1620

Main entrance of the Isfahan Bazaar

A handicraft-maker-seller

A carpet shop in the Grand Bazaar

Shoppers in the Grand Bazaar

The bazaar was one of the greatest and most luxurious trading centers in the Safavid era. It was built in 1620 on the northern side of Naqsh-e Jahan Square. It connects the Naqsh-e Jahan Square to the Kohneh Square and Seljukid part of Isfahan.^[1][2]

History

It was originally constructed during the 11th century on the southwest wing of the Jameh Mosque and Kohneh Square, but various arcades and rooms were later added.

The bazaar, one of the oldest and largest in the Middle East, dates to Seljukid and Safavid era and is the longest roofed market in the world. ^[3] 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.^[4]

In the Middle-East, bazaars were typically situated in close proximity to the mosque and the Isfahan Bazaar is no exception. The Bazaar of Isfahan is located in downtown old Isfahan, Iran, in the northern section of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square. The main entrance called Qeisarieh stretches through to Jameh Mosque, the oldest mosque in Isfahan, and one of the oldest in Iran.^[5]

19th-century drawing of Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Isfahan, by French architect Xavier Pascal Coste, who traveled to Persia in 1839.

See also

• List of the historical structures in the Isfahan province

References

1. "سردر بازار قیصریه". تیشینه (in Persian). Retrieved 2019-03-10.
2. "درگاه الکترونیکی شهرداری اصفهان". www.isfahan.ir. Archived from the original on 2019-03-09. Retrieved 2019-03-10.
3. Assari,A., Mahesh, T.M., Emtehani, M.E. and Assari, E., "Comparative Sustainability of Bazaar in Iranian Traditional Cities: Case Studies of Isfahan and Tabriz," International Journal on “Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering”, Vol. 3, no. 9, 2011, pp 18-24; Iran Chamber of Commerce, <Online: http://www.iranchamber.com/architecture/articles/bazaar_of_isfahan1.php#sthash.BB3fHqgx.dpuf>
4. "Bazaar at Isfahan". Archnet.org. Archived from the original on 2006-02-26. Retrieved 2007-07-19.
5. Assari, Ali; T.M. Mahesh (December 2011). "Comparative Sustainability of Bazaar in Iranian Traditional Cities: Case Studies in Isfahan and Tabriz" (PDF). International Journal on Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering (IJTPE). 3 (9): 18–24. Retrieved 6 January 2013.

Bibliography

• A. Bakhtiar: ‘The Royal Bazaar of Isfahan’, Studies on Isfahan, ed. R. Holod, 2 vols, Iran. Stud., vii (1974), pp. 320–47
• H. Gaube and E. Wirth: Der Bazar von Isfahan (Wiesbaden, 1978)
• Dehbashi, Ali (2003), Isfahan, Tehran: Gooya House of Culture & Art, ISBN 964-7610-01-7

External links

Media related to Isfahan Grand Bazaar at Wikimedia Commons

• Iran Chamber Society on Architecture of the Bazaar at Isfahan