TEHRAN – A budget of seven billion rials (some $170,000) has spent on the restoration of the historic bazaar of Semnan in north-central Iran over the past six years, a provincial tourism chief has said.

Preserving and restoring the bazaar requires everyone’s participation and close collaboration of the shop owners, as well as bazaar’s board of trustees, is needed in this regard, ILNA quoted Mostafa Yaghmaeian as saying on Monday.

Strengthening and repairing bazaar’s rooftop, paved road, gutters, and walls have been done so far, the official added.

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.

The Qajar-era (1789–1925) Semnan bazaar was inscribed on the National Heritage list in 1996.

The main population centers of Semnan province lie along the ancient Silk Road (and modern-day Imam Reza Expressway), linking Rey (Tehran) with Khorasan (Mashhad). While few visitors spend much time in the area, driving through you can easily seek out several well-preserved caravanserais (notably Dehnamak and Ahowan), cisterns (the Cafe Abenbar in Garmsar is a special treat) and ruined mud citadels (Padeh is lumpy but fascinating). The large, bustling cities of Semnan, Damghan, and Shahrud (Bastam) all have a small selection of historic buildings.

ABU/MG