BAZAAR

originally, a public market district of a Persian town. From Persia the term spread to Arabia (the Arabic word suq is synonymous), Turkey, and North Africa. In India it came to be applied to a single shop; and in current English usage it is applied both to a single shop or concession selling miscellaneous articles and to a fair at which such miscellany is sold, often for charity. The familiar bazaar of the ancient Islamic nations is vividly described in the traditional folktales of The Thousand and One Nights. It is a distinct quarter of the town, access to which is forbidden after sundown, bustling and noisy by day, in contrast to the quiet residential quarters. Such a bazaar may be divided into districts, with all the purveyors of one type of merchandise grouped together. In smaller towns the bazaar consists of a single narrow street of stalls. In larger cities, such as Istanbul, it consists of many miles of such passageways. Some bazaars, such as those built at Kashan and Isfahan (in Iran) in the 17th century, were designed with great architectural integrity. They were usually roofed for protection against the hot desert sun, either with a single roof, with individual vaulted cupolas or domes, or with awnings. Most ancient bazaars have gradually been modernized over the centuries.