Kashan Bazaar, Historical market center in Kashan, Iran.
Kashan Bazaar is an expansive marketplace with brick vaults, domed ceilings, and circular skylights that illuminate underground trading passages and narrow corridors. The complex stretches across several kilometers and connects numerous merchant houses with residential spaces above the shops.
The bazaar was founded during the Seljuq dynasty in the 10th century and underwent major reconstruction during the Safavid period. The Qajar era added further structures that shaped the complex as it appears today.
The bazaar is organized into distinct zones where craftspeople work and sell their specialties. Each area, from the copper section to textile and spice merchants, reflects generations of trade tradition practiced by local families.
The bazaar has several entrances between Baba Afzal Street and Darvaze Dolat Square, with shops opening in the morning and operating until 10 PM. The layout is maze-like and winding, so a map or local guide helps with navigation through the passages.
Beneath the bazaar run ancient underground water channels called qanats that feed fountains and provide natural cooling throughout the complex. This ingenious irrigation system from earlier centuries remains functional and shapes the microclimate in the underground passages today.
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