TEHRAN – Iran’s tourism minister said on Saturday that the historical bazaar of Arak requires urgent restoration work as the government pursues its possible inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Tourism Minister Seyyed Reza Salehi-Amiri told reporters during a visit to the centuries-old bazaar that the site embraces more than 1,700 shops and 22 caravanserais and timchehs, making it one of the country’s largest traditional commercial complexes. (A timcheh can be considered as a short, wide, and covered market, which is a dead-end on both sides.)

Salehi-Amiri said the bazaar is already on the country’s nomination list for UNESCO and that preliminary on-site assessments have been carried out. He added that the latest visit was intended to review conditions and coordinate restoration plans with the Markazi provincial government, Arak municipality and the provincial cultural heritage office.

He said the priority is to protect the site’s heritage value and prevent new alterations. “The bazaar’s capacities are exceptional and it must receive greater financial and conservation support,” he said, urging merchants to avoid new interventions that could affect the UNESCO process.

Salehi-Amiri said the bazaar could become a major cultural asset for Markazi province if successfully inscribed. He cautioned, however, that the nomination and evaluation process is complex and time-consuming.

He added that UNESCO experts can only be invited for further inspection once essential structural and physical repairs are completed. 
At present, it is not an appropriate time for a UNESCO visit due to the bazaar’s condition, he noted. 

Salehi-Amiri said the government will summarize its planned cultural heritage actions for Markazi province at the end of his visit during a meeting of the provincial administrative council.

Arak’s historical bazaar, located in the center of the city, was constructed in the early Qajar period by Mohammad Yousef Khan Gorji Sepahdari. The complex includes commercial corridors, timchehs, mosques, baths, cisterns, caravanserais and the Sepahdari School. Its architecture features domed passages, brick facades and decorative rasmi-bandi patterns, with major intersections marked by two large Chahar-souqs, which are main crossroads where two major bazaar corridors intersect. 

AM