Bazar Vakil
The Bazaar Vakil is the most important bazaar in Shirāz and its construction at the time of Karim Khān Zand, lasted more or less from the year 1137 up to the 1156 of the solar Hegira. The architecture of this complex resumes that of the Qeysarieh Lār bazaar and of the small Boland bazaar of Esfahān.
From the architectural point of view, it is made up of three entrance and passage areas (a space for passing customers), the front of the shops (about two steps higher than the ground level), the shopping area (place of sale) and five large doors located on its four sides.
In this bazaar there are two main streets which, crossing each other, cut each other; in the intersection of these two streets there are four very beautiful niches; once under these there was a large marble basin that disappeared due to the rising of the bazaar floor.
The materials used in its construction are bricks, stucco and lime, the building was erected on the bases of a smooth stone block and this type of bazaar has such stable foundations that during the history of its construction, the earthquakes of the city of Shirāz failed to cause serious damage.
The method of letting light penetrate into the Vakil bazaar is different from that of others; in the ceiling there are cracks that prevent the direct light from radiating inwards and are an obstacle to the entrance of a large amount of water inside the bazaar when it rains a lot.
Under the ceiling, openings and slits have been made to direct the light and sufficient air into the walls hojreha (environments where goods were exchanged and stored). In the upper section of these rooms there are latticed windows which play a role in creating suitable heat and regulating the flow of air.
The bazaar shops often had a pantry and were designed on two floors. Here there were also some ancient caravanserai with the names Roughani, Gamarak and Ahmadi and a place where coins were coined whose entrance door was inside the bazaar.
Each of these caravanserai had some rooms. The names of the various sections of the bazaar related to the activity that took place in each part were the following: "Bazar bāzārān", "Bazar Alāghe Bandān" (which in the past was the place of production and sale of various types of wire, bows , silk ribbons and this kind of goods but today the sellers of carpets and perfumers have taken their place), "Bazar Torkesh Duzha" (center of sales of the Iranian carpets) the bazaar of the builders of swords, the bazaar of the ramai, of the hatters, saddlers, crystals, tailors and sellers of the fabric termeh etc…
Today the Vakil Bazaar in Shirāz is a fusion of the traditional and modern bazaars where various goods are displayed such as: nomadic handicrafts, high quality fabrics, traditional sweets, distillates, various types of hand-woven carpets, kilims, gabbehs , jājim (rugs), felt, various types of leather, traditional costume jewelery, types of copper and silver vessels, spices, antiques, traditional Shiraz clothes and local goods, etc.
A bazaar named "Sarā-ye moshir" or "Golshan" is present nearby and attached to the Vakil Bazaar and due to the close proximity of these two erroneously believed to be a single bazaar. Sarā-ye Moshir is one of the most beautiful and fascinating bazaars in Iran's traditional bazaars.
The Vakil Bazaar of Shirāz in different eras has been exposed to fundamental changes and repairs and has taken on its present appearance. Next to the bazaar there are other places such as the mosque and the historic Vakil hammam