iran

The Grand Bazaar

Tehran, the capital of Iran, is home to roughly 13 million people. It is one of the largest cities in the country. So large in fact, that there exists what some would call another city within Tehran itself: The Grand Bazaar. 

The Tehran Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest bazaars in Iran, located in downtown Tehran. It is split into several corridors and is about 10 km in length. Each corridor specializes in different goods and has over 200,000 vendors with roughly 2 million visits per day.  

The Bazaar is constantly bustling as a centre of commerce. All the goods that come into Tehran first go through the bazaar. Dried and fresh fruits from around the country, freshly harvested vegetables, sweets, sours, assorted nuts by the kilos, carpets, clothes, jewelry, toys, anything and everything you can think of, even birds, can be found in the bazaar. It is a constant sea of people with lines around every corner to its famous restaurants. Within the Bazaar, smaller sections are often called "Bazaarcheh", particular sections which often specialize in things such as gold, beauty products, and souvenirs.  

Its history goes back thousands of years when its location was used as a marketplace, with the current structures being from the 17th to 18th century. The Bazaar has a long, complicated history, with no exact date of when it was established. It was built, destroyed, rebuilt, expanded, and moved many times throughout the years but has been firmly established in Iranian culture since the late 1800s.

The Tehran Grand Bazaar is a city of its own with hidden mosques, mausoleums, shrines, teahouses and restaurants. If unguided, one is likely to get lost within its corridors, as it is an endless maze of twisting alleyways that keeps surprising you. However, beauty is always around every corner, as the Bazaar is home to some of the most incredible architecture in Iran. It has a unique and complicated architecture, with variations from each section to the next, which can be seen from the floors to the walls, and even the ceiling, designed specifically to capture heat and cool down the Bazaar.

The Architectural
Wonders
of Iran

Iran is home to some of the world’s most complex, beautiful architecture, from the designs of mosques, temples, shrines, tombs, Iran has no shortage of sights to see. Some of the most notable are:

THE SHAH MOSQUE, ISFAHAN

The Shah Mosque, Isfahan. Considered to be one of the most beautiful mosques in the world and regarded as one of the masterpieces of Persian architecture, the Shah Mosque is an elegantly designed mosque decorated with its iconic blue tiles. It is located in Isfahan, near central Iran.

It was built in the early 16th century as a monument to the vision of Shah Abbas I of Persia and his accomplishments during the Safavid dynasty. 

NAZIR-OL-MOLK MOSQUE, SHIRAZ

The Nasir al-Mulk Mosque is a masterwork of stained glass and light manipulation. The mosque’s popularity has garnered it many different names around the world, such as the “Pink Mosque”. It is also called the “Mosque of colours,” the “Rainbow Mosque” or the “Kaleidoscope Mosque”. It was built during the Qajar dynasty, near the late 19th century, and is still in use today, both as a place of worship and a tourist location. 

The mosque is a celebration of Islamic art, architecture, tile making, geometry, patterns and other arts that flourished in the Golden Age of Islam. 

The mosque comes to life with the sunrise as the rays of light shine through its walls and colour dances throughout its space. The reflections on the walls change as the sun moves, and you are often left with a completely different spectacle of light come sundown. 

AZADI TOWER, TEHRAN

The Azadi Tower is a monument located in Azadi Square in Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Iran and connects to the Azadi complex, which combines the tower and the underground museum.

The tower is roughly 45 meters tall and is completely covered in cut marble. It was commissioned by the last king of Iran and completed in 1971. It was designed by a 24-year-old architectural student, Hossein Amanat, as a monument to both past and present Iran. It combined elements of classical and post-classical Iranian architecture and stands as a testament to the Iranian people.

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The museum’s exposition consists of around 50 historical artifacts, representing different periods of the history of Iran. It holds pottery, paintings, gold, and marble pieces. Azadi Tower often becomes a place of social and cultural events, as light installations, concerts, and festivals.