Timchah va Sara-i Nawzari

Arak, Iran

The complex of Nawzari in the Bazaar of Arak includes two timchahs (domed halls with bazaar shops) and a caravanserai. The complex sits behind the shops on the west side of the main bazaar street, and is pierced by the fourth and fifth side lanes that intersect the main street. These side lanes are covered with vaults, lined with shops, and dead end after running for some thirty or so meters, blending seamlessly into the complex.

The center of the complex is the caravanserai. An entrance off the main bazaar street leads through a long corridor onto the southeastern side of the caravanserai's open courtyard. This courtyard is paved with large stone slabs and features an octagonal pool at the center. Surrounding the court is a two story arcade onto which chambers open on the second floor and shops open on the first.

A corridor on the northwest side of the caravanserai's courtyard leads onto the central domed hall of the complex's larger timchah. The timchah's central hall takes the form of a rectangle with angled corners oriented southwest-northeast, parallel to the caravanserai court. Covering this octagon are nine vaulted bays, the central three rising higher than the three on its north and south side. Oculi at the bases of these vaults provide light. Shop windows open onto this space on two stories under each bay. 

The southwestern and northeastern ends of this timchah give onto corridors that connect to the ends of the two side lanes that intersect the main bazaar street. On the northeastern side, a smaller timchah, also octagonal and two stories high, is accessible through a corridor across the side lane. On the southwestern side, the end of the side lane gives onto a small, open courtyard. 

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