Sultan Abad -- the original name for Arak -- was constructed as a planned settlement, and the bazaar was both its commercial engine and its geometric blueprint. Two main axes cross at the Chahar Soogh, meaning "four bazaars," where a small stone pool marks the intersection. From this junction, passages radiate outward to four ancient city gates, one at each cardinal direction. Entering the city in those early decades meant walking through the bazaar itself. The complex spans 14 acres and includes not just market stalls but a mosque, a public bath, water reservoirs, passages, and a caravansary -- the full ecosystem of Qajar-era urban life. It was added to the Iran National Heritage List on 1 November 1976.

The architecture is practical and deliberate. Walls are built from brick reinforced with wooden joists set in clay, their column bases sheathed in copper and lead. The vaulted ceilings create a microclimate that keeps the interior cool in summer and warm in winter, a feature common to many Persian bazaars but particularly well executed here. The passages were designed with safety in mind: routes branch so that in case of fire, crowds can disperse quickly rather than bottleneck. The bazaar once contained a 200-year-old water reservoir with a rare double ceiling, one of the most unusual structures of its kind in Iran. It was demolished by the municipality to make room for a school -- a loss still mourned by architectural historians.

The economic engine that justified Sultan Abad's construction was the region's extraordinary agricultural output and, above all, the Sarouk Persian carpet. These handwoven rugs, prized for their dense pile and intricate medallion patterns, brought international demand to a settlement that might otherwise have remained a provincial outpost. The bazaar became the natural hub for presenting these goods to the world. Today, the market continues to handle dried fruit, handicrafts, and handmade carpets, connecting local production to domestic and international trade routes.

Iranian bazaars have always been more than marketplaces. They are social crossroads where ethnic groups mingle, supply and demand take shape through face-to-face negotiation, and -- critically -- political movements find their footing. During the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of the early 20th century, Arak's bazaar became a center of resistance against foreign economic influence. The merchant class, deeply embedded in these covered passages, wielded real power. When they closed their stalls in protest, the economy felt it immediately. That tradition of bazaar-led political action runs deep in Iranian history, and Arak's market has been part of it from the beginning. The governor Sepahdar Aazm, who ordered the first buildings constructed, left his name on a mosque and a school that still stand -- reminders that commerce, faith, and education have always shared these walls.