When Karim Khan Zand made Shiraz his capital in the 18th century, he built a new royal quarter with a citadel, a mosque, a bathhouse and this bazaar. Its main lanes are tall and airy, with brick vaults designed to keep the interior cool in summer and warm in winter, and side courtyards where caravans once unloaded.
Today it is a lively, very local market for spices, dried fruit, carpets, nomad kilims, copperware and Shirazi inlay work. Step into the Vakil Mosque next door to see its forest of spiral-carved columns, and into the Vakil Bathhouse, a beautifully restored hammam with painted domes and life-size figures.
Highlights
- Spice and dried-fruit stalls under brick vaults
- Spiral-carved columns of the Vakil Mosque
- The restored Vakil Bathhouse
- Nomad kilims and gabbeh rugs
Gallery
