When you reach the end of the northern part of Shariati Ave. in Iran’s capital
and walk the short passage between Qods and Tajrish Squares, if you continue on
the westward side walk, you will find yourself in front of the small gates of a
famous marketplace called Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran. When you enter the Bazaar,
the first thing you notice is the people whose nationalities could be guessed
from their appearances. After all, the number of foreign visitors among the
natives is not small at all. As usual, Tajrish Bazaar is full of people who are
either marveling at the pre-Qajar architecture of the place, or checking the
goods and their prices, or shopping in crowded stores which are mostly identical
to each other in size and shape. Explorers come from all countries, tribes or
races; whether foreign tourists who have come to the biggest capital in the
Middle East, or Iranian travelers or even the residents of Tehran.
There are many different types of goods in Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran. From
consumable daily requirements such as fruits and vegetables to all sorts of
clothing garments such as shawls and scarves; from silverware and jewelry to
metals and traditional items that would capture the attention of any visitor and
beg to be bought as a souvenir or gift.
If you walk through the Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran all the way up to its end, you
will reach another entry with Qajari features. After going through the door you
finally arrive at a section in the northern part of Imamzadeh Saleh Shrine. This
rectangular open space which has a gable ceiling with historical and religious
features is Tajrish Bazaar’s Tekyeh in Tehran which is a place for holding
traditional and religious ceremonies. The locals believe that the building is
more than 100 years old. Tajrish Tekyeh has two floors, and the second floor is
ornamented with 22 identically shaped and sized windows, each opening at a
particular angle towards the first floor. The second floor is used for women who
attend the annual mourning rituals done to commemorate the martyrdom of the
third Shiite Imam, Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him) during the month of
Muharram.
On the ground floor of Tajrish Tekyeh, in the middle, there is a stage on which
the theatre platform is placed and is used for traditional, ritualistic and
religious passion plays called Tazieh. Tazieh platform works the same way as the
stage would in classic theatres. The difference is that in a classic theatre the
spectators are seated in front of the stage but in Tazieh or Shabih Khani, the
seats are designed to be surrounding the platform in the middle. The difference
between Shabih Khani (a type of Tazieh) that is done in Tajrish Bazaar’s Tekyeh
and those done in other places is that due to the specific architecture of the
Tajrish Tekyeh, men are seated on the first floor and around the stage but women
watch the act from the second floor and through the angled windows facing the
bottom floor.
In 1978, Tajrish Bazaar’s Tekyeh in Tehran was nearly destroyed by the flood and
had to be renovated. It is quite interesting how the building’s gable ceiling
withstood the flood and remained intact. Tajrish Tekyeh was registered as a
national and cultural heritage site in 2004.
Walking through the Bazaar and spending some time with the store owners and the
locals would make for acquiring a lot of interesting information. For example,
in the past, each one of the stores in Tajrish Bazaar in Tehran was named after
an old local resident of the area; names which are still living in the hearts
and minds of Tajrish’s locals.
