TEHRAN – A flooring project has recently been completed on a covered passage of the historical bazaar of Zanjan in northwestern Iran, the provincial tourism chief has announced. 

The project was carried out in collaboration with Zanjan Municipality under the supervision of the cultural heritage experts, Amir Arjmand said on Tuesday. 

Using slabs, the flooring work has been underway since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started on March 20), the official added. 

The other passages of the bazaar are also planned to undergo rehabilitation works in the near future, he noted. 

The Qajar-era (1789-1925) bazaar embraces five mosques, two caravanserais, and two bathhouses as well as over 900 stores. Due to changes in weather conditions in the city of Zanjan, the bazaar has been designed in such a way that external climatic variations are not perceived at all.

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

Most mazes and passages offer certain commodities such as carpets, metalwork, toys, clothing, jewelry, and kitchen appliances, traditional spices, herbal remedies, and natural perfumes. One can also bump into colorful grocery stores, bookbinders, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, coppersmiths, tobacconists, tailors, flag sellers, broadcloth sellers, carpenters, shoemakers, and knife-makers.

Several divided carpet sections across the bazaar enable visitors to watch or buy hand-woven Persian carpets and rugs with different knot densities and other features. From another point of view, bazaars are also synonyms of foods, with their unmissable colorful stalls of vegetables, herbs, and spices. Yet, most of these ingredients might be mysterious to a foreign eye.

Zanjan is one of the cities founded by Sassanid King Ardashir I (180-242 CE). The province makes a base for wider explorations with the architectural wonder of Soltaniyeh, the subterranean delights of the Katale-Khor caves, colorful mountains, and the UNESCO-registered Takht-e Soleiman ruins are nearby.

ABU/AFM