Golpayegan Chahr Soq Bazar

With a wide entrance and brick arching as well as brick barrel vault, Chahr Soq Bazar in Golpayegan city is related to Seljuk period in its style of architecture. It is facing the minaret of the city on one side while leading to the grand mosque on the other. The juxtaposition of bazaar and mosque in Iranian cities has always been remarkable. Today, the new and grand bazar of Golpayegan has been developed around Chahr Soq Bazar.

Based on its architectural style, geographical location and historical background, the complex of the traditional bazar of Golpayegan used to have a significant commercial place in the region. Its importance was more due to the architectural style and geographical location, bridging Golpayegan minaret to the grand mosque. Like other traditional bazars in old cities, they used a combination of brick arches, symmetry in composition, providing side spaces like coffee houses and Timcheh, as well as natural light without heat and cold in construction of this one. The building is estimated to be constructed nearly 400 years ago. The traditional bazar of Golpayegan includes coppersmith’s, potters’, carpet sellers’, espadrille makers’ bazars, the main bazar and many other shopping centers. Like other bazars in old cities of Iran, the traditional bazar of Golpayegan shows dome-barrel vaults with amazing corners similar to Safavid brickwork in the grand bazar of Isfahan.

Counters, doors in form of simple thick wooden boards with two wooden holes at the bottom and top, in front of the store, screw locks which were made in the same city on which the sellers blow, reading Al-Ikhlāṣ Surah, in order to protect their store against the thief are among the most interesting past memories of this place. 

Chelvar (a kind of traditional fabric) wooden baskets (named Taft), Chelvari and Kappeh, dastās  (a kind of traditional mill), traditional scales, Siyaq counting (an Iranian traditional way of counting which was totally popular until the end of Qajar rule), lighting in the middle of Shaʽban (the eighth month of the Islamic calendar), installing oil lights which worked with castor oil, petroleum lamps which were put up at nights, guarding dogs and the noise of sheriffs, … are all memories narrated by the elders of this bazar. 

Timcheh means caravanserai or the small Tim that is small caravanserai. However, today it refers to small and roofed places and caravanserais. Timcheh provides a proper place for supplying precious commodities such as carpet, away from wind, rain and sun. that is why renting Timcheh has always been more expensive than the ordinary caravanserais where inexpensive objects were also sold. 

Registration Date: 2006/3/7

Registration Number: 144440

Address: Golpayegan- Imam Khomeini Street, in front of Seljuk Minaret.