TEHRAN – A budget of one billion rials (some $24,000) has been allocated to the restoration project of Shams al-Saltaneh Bazaar in the city of Naragh, the central province of Markazi.

The project includes repairing and strengthening the rooftop of the covered bazaar as well as changing the worn-out bricks and repairing gutters, CHTN quoted provincial tourism chief Parvin Sadat Tayyebi as saying on Monday.

The Qajar-era (1789–1925) bazaar was built by Haj Mohammad Naraghi, one of the city’s merchants, and then was inherited to his daughter Shams al-Saltaneh.

The historic bazaar, which is considered as one of the main tourist attractions of Naragh, was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1983.

In the Iranian culture, bazaars have been traditional public spaces in the Iranian cities with great contributions to commercial activities in the urban life meanwhile their extended activates can be traced to social, cultural, political, and religious roles.

ABU/MG