The word “bazaar” can refer to a periodic market such as a weekly farmers’ market or a fair held at specific times of the year. But in modern Persian, it usually refers to a permanent and more abstract entity—namely, the sector of the economy comprising all levels of trade, from wholesale, brokerage, midlevel business, and distribution, to small-scale businesses and shops. It can also refer to the physical establishment in which trade is conducted or the underlying financial system.
In the cultural region roughly encompassing Iran, Afghanistan, northern India, and Central Asia, the term usually applies to an architectural complex that houses merchants, brokers, retailers, and craftsmen, divided into sections according to the commodity sold. These complexes usually comprise a row or several rows of two-story buildings. The buildings are connected by a brick ceiling consisting of small domes over the alleyways. There is an opening at the center of each minidome for light and ventilation. This design provides the alleyways with some light and keeps the complex cool in summer. In a typical bazaar, the top level of the buildings is usually used by wholesalers and brokers and sometimes for storage, while the lower level houses shopkeepers and craftsmen. Additionally, the bazaar complex may contain social institutions such as mosques and madrasas (Muslim schools). Sometimes there are also interior courtyards and smaller caravansaries adjacent to the bazaar. Caravansaries are hostel-like establishments for merchants from out of town. In larger cities, some caravansaries could be at the outskirts of the town and spatially separated from the bazaar.
The bazaar complex can have anywhere from two hundred shops to several thousand in major cities. The Friday mosque is sometimes next to or part of the bazaar complex, which adds a religious aspect to the otherwise mostly economical and social significance of the bazaar. In most major cities, the bazaar complex is in a central position in the city, which gives it prominence. A perfect example is the Safavid capital Isfahan, where the complex of Maydan-i Shah houses the palace, several mosques, and a new bazaar.
There are no (permanent) residences within the bazaar complex, so it can be locked at night or on holidays. It can also be closed for political protest. For instance, during the Iranian revolution of 1979, prolonged planned closure of the bazaar of Tehran was used as a means of protest.
See also capitalism; trade and commerce
Further Readings
P. W. English, City and Village in Iran, 1966; M. Scharabi, Der Bazar, 1985.
HADI JORATI