TEHRAN – A budget of 2 billion rials (some $50,000) has been allocated to the restoration project of Qeisarieh Baazar in the city of Lar, southern province of Fars.

The project includes covering and strengthening rooftop using cob material as well as repairing walls and gutters, CHTN quoted provincial tourism chief Abdolreza Nasiri as saying on Monday.

Built in the 15th century and before the Safavid-era (1501–1736), Qeisarieh Bazaar with stone walls and brick domes is considered the oldest bazaar in the country. It has been renovated and restored in different historical eras.

The ancient region of Fars, also spelled Pars, or Persis, was the heart of the Achaemenian Empire (550–330 BC), which was founded by Cyrus the Great and had its capital at Pasargadae. Darius I the Great moved the capital to nearby Persepolis in the late 6th or early 5th century BC.

The capital city of Shiraz is home to some of the country’s most magnificent buildings and sights including Hafezieh (mausoleum of Hafez), the UNESCO-registered Persepolis, and Sadi mausoleum. Increasingly, it draws more and more foreign and domestic sightseers flocking into this provincial capital which was the literary capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

ABU/MG