Qazvin Grand Bazaar
A walk through caravanserais, trading courts and Masjed al-Nabi
Start on Imam Khomeini Street in central Qazvin and enter Sa’d al-Saltaneh through its street portal. From the tiled dome at the centre of the caravanserai, continue into the bazaar lanes or make a separate stop at Masjed al-Nabi.
Qazvin’s market took shape in the Safavid period, and many of its surviving buildings date from the Qajar era. Vaulted lanes connect smaller trading spaces, merchant courtyards and a mosque within the wider bazaar district.
The wider bazaar is a working market. The UNESCO inscription covers Sa’d al-Saltaneh as one component of The Persian Caravanserai.
Contents
Where is Qazvin Bazaar?
Location: Qazvin Province, Qazvin City, Imam Khomeini Street
Access to Qazvin Bazaar
Use the Sa’d al-Saltaneh entrance on Imam Khomeini Street as a starting point. The heritage nomination map shows the caravanserai, Qeysarieh, the coppersmiths’ bazaar and adjoining courtyards in relation to Imam Khomeini and Molavi streets.
Discovering Qazvin Bazaar
Walk beneath the brick vaults and look for doors leading off the market lanes. These passages open into courts where merchants could receive goods and do business away from the main shopping lanes.
History of Qazvin Grand Bazaar
Iran’s tourism authority traces the bazaar to the Safavid era and dates most of its surviving buildings to the Qajar period. The plan resembles a grid, with lanes branching into caravanserais, smaller market courts and religious buildings.
Masjed al-Nabi is the mosque associated with the bazaar. Qazvin’s older Jameh Mosque is a separate sight in the city.
Architecture of Qazvin Historical Bazaar
A rasteh is a row of shops along a market lane. A saray opens around a courtyard, while a timcheh is a smaller trading space that can be open or roofed.
Look up where two lanes meet. Domes and skylights bring daylight into otherwise shaded brick passages. The tiled dome at Sa’d al-Saltaneh is a particularly clear example.
Different Sections of Qazvin Grand Bazaar
Qeysarieh is one of the bazaar’s covered trade rows. The courtyards of Vazir, Haj Reza and Razavi are distinct places, while Sarbaz and the Covered Timcheh are smaller spaces off the market lanes.
Caravanserais of Qazvin Bazaar
The caravanserais worked as commercial courtyards in the city. Start with Sa’d al-Saltaneh, where the street entrance, roofed passages and loading court make their layout easier to read.
Qeysarieh Market Row
Qeysarieh is a vaulted market lane. Use it to see how shops line a main passage and how smaller trading spaces branch off it.
The heritage map labels Qeysarieh and its timcheh south of the main Sa’d al-Saltaneh courtyards, toward Razavi Caravanserai.
Sa’d al-Saltaneh Caravanserai
Mohammad Baqer Khan Sa’d al-Saltaneh, the governor of Qazvin, commissioned the caravanserai late in the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.
UNESCO lists the caravanserai as component 1668-054 of The Persian Caravanserai. Its mapped property is 2.58 hectares, with a separately defined buffer zone around it.
Look for the contrast between the shop-lined lanes, open courtyards and former camel stalls. Iran’s tourism authority describes restored spaces with craft shops and places to eat.
A chaharsuq is a junction of market lanes. Here the central one sits beneath a tiled dome at the crossing of two passages.
Stand at the junction to see how daylight reaches the brick passages from openings above.
On the southwest side, the Shotor Khan is the former camel yard. Its position away from the central junction helps show how goods entered the complex before reaching the merchant rooms.
Vazir Caravanserai
Vazir is one of the historic courtyard complexes identified by Iran’s tourism authority in the Qazvin bazaar.
The entrance vestibule has a brick dome. Look for the opening at the crown, which brings daylight into the passage.
Merchant chambers face the open courtyard on two levels.
Look for tiled arches and orosi, the wooden lattice windows on the upper level.
Haj Reza Caravanserai
Haj Reza is another courtyard complex within the bazaar. From the entrance, look across the courtyard to the two levels of chambers.
The brick arches frame the transition between the covered entry and the open court.
Razavi Caravanserai
Razavi, also called Saray-e Shah, appears south of Qeysarieh on the heritage map.
Its chambers surround a rectangular courtyard. The western entrance passes under a brick dome.
Timches of Qazvin Grand Bazaar
Sarbaz is an open timcheh near Qeysarieh. Look for glazed tiles above the arches and wooden latticework around the chambers.
Timches bring a group of merchant rooms together off the main lane. In Qazvin, the open and covered examples offer a comparison of how the same kind of trading space could use daylight.
Covered Timcheh
The Covered Timcheh sits near Qeysarieh. Its roof gives it a more enclosed feel than the open Sarbaz court.
Haj Seyed Kazem Timcheh
This small covered timcheh is traditionally associated with leather merchants.
Razavi Timcheh
This smaller trading space takes its name from the merchant Abolghasem Razavi.
Darvish Mehdi Timcheh
This named timcheh is in the network of lanes near the Zarabkhaneh Caravanserai.
Haj Mohammad Taghi Timcheh
This timcheh is traditionally associated with the blacksmiths’ market.
Masjed al-Nabi
Masjed al-Nabi, also known as the Shah Mosque, is a Qajar mosque within the bazaar district. Visit Iran attributes its construction to Agha Mohammad Khan and later work to Fath Ali Shah. The central courtyard has four iwans, or vaulted halls opening toward the courtyard. Look for the tiled dome behind the south iwan. Give worshippers room and follow posted entry instructions.
What to Buy from Qazvin Market?
Browse the caravanserai shops for locally made crafts and the market lanes for textiles or rugs. If you are buying a carpet or kilim, ask where it was woven and what fibres it contains.
Look for Qazvin-style baklava and nan-e berenji, a rice-flour sweet. A confectioner can tell you which sweets travel well and which contain nuts.
Tips for Visiting Qazvin Bazaar
Allow time for both the caravanserai and the trading lanes. Individual stalls keep their own hours, so start with the market if shopping is your priority. Keep doorways and loading passages clear, and ask before photographing people. For a second stop nearby, see Qazvin’s Chehel Sotoun Palace.
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Final Word
For a short visit, go from the Sa’d al-Saltaneh street portal to the central dome and one courtyard. With more time, continue into Qeysarieh and stop at Masjed al-Nabi to see how trade and worship occupy separate spaces in the same district.
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