Old Vakil Bazaar - Shiraz.

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http://www.heygo.com 13th March - Old Vakil Bazaar, Old and Historical Market in Shiraz.



Karim Khan Citadel was constructed in 1697 when the Zand Dynasty was ruling the country. When Karim Khan Zand selected Shiraz as the capital city, lots of significant changes were made. He invited the most professional architects and artists to Shiraz and asked them to build this really amazing structure.

Karim Khan Citadel has had various functions in different historical eras. It was the living place of Karim Khan Zand in the Zand Dynasty, the living place of local rulers in the Qajar Dynasty, and prison in the Pahlavi Dynasty. For now it is transformed into a museum.

In 1972, Karim Khan Citadel was registered in the National Heritage of Iran.



The dominant material used in this structure is stone and stucco.

One of the 4 towers is fondly referred to as the ‘Pisa Tower of Shiraz’. During the time the citadel was a prison apparently the sewage from around the towers washed the soil away creating the lean in the tower.

The statue of a tourist taking a photograph of the leaning tower & the citadel was not what you would expect to find here but it was quite charming & I’m sure brings a smile to visitors faces.



Our guide was explaining about the upcoming new year celebrations on 21st March.



Nowruz is the Iranian New Year, also known as the Persian New Year,

Iranian people carry out a thorough cleaning of their houses. The cleaning is called “sweeping the dust”, and represents a wish to put away old things, bid farewell to the old year, and welcome the New Year.

A fire festival is held on the eve of the last Wednesday of the calendar year. This festival is full of special customs and rituals, especially jumping over fire. As the sun sets, people light up fires and gather around to jump over them.

While the clock is ticking away and the New Year is approaching, the family sits around the specially prepared Haft Seen Table. Our guide explained further;

Seven items beginning with the sound /s/ are set on the table. ‘Senjed’ or dried oleaster which symbolizes wisdom, ‘Sabzeh’ or sprouts refer to rebirth, ‘Seeb’ or apple stands for health and beauty, ‘Samanu’ or pudding made from wheat germ is a sign of power, ‘Sir’ or garlic refers to medicine and good health, ‘Serkeh’ or vinegar symbolizes patience and finally Somac which stands for sunrise and Good conquering Evil. Other items such as coins, flowers, mirror and candle sticks and decorated eggs are also put on the table to bring good luck, wealth and happiness for the family.



It was time to enter the bazaar.

It was built in the early 19th century. The ceilings are more than 10 meters high and have special skylights. This feature makes the bazaar temperature warm in winter and cool in summer time.

For the convenience of merchants and travelers and making the economy of Shiraz more prosperous, Karim Khan Zand added other structures like inns, customs, warehouses etc. The bazaar has five big gates which are located in four sides.



Inside one part of the bazaar, now selling antique and craft items was the original caravanserai, Shiraz being on the main Silk Road route needed to have a place for the merchants and travellers to take rest. There is also a mosque inside the bazaar.



This old bazaar in Shiraz was full of traditional atmosphere, Farzaneh is a great narrator and brought to life the sights, sounds & aroma’s of this traditional bazaar.

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