City Asia
Tabriz
Tabriz is a big city in Iran. It has a huge old market with covered brick streets.
Tabriz is a large city in northwestern Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan province. Its historic bazaar, a market of covered brick halls and lanes, was one of the most important trading centers on the Silk Road, UNESCO says. The 2016 census counted 1,558,693 people.
Tabriz, capital of East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran, has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity; its Historic Bazaar Complex, a World Heritage site since 2010, was one of the Silk Road's most important commercial centers (UNESCO). Census 2016: 1,558,693, Iran's sixth-largest city.
Photo: p.pourabedin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Tabriz
Tabriz is a city in Iran, a country in Asia. Lots and lots of people live there.
Tabriz has a very old covered market called a bazaar.
Tabriz is a city in the northwest of Iran and the capital of the province of East Azerbaijan. Iran's 2016 census counted 1,558,693 people there, making it the sixth-largest city in the country.
UNESCO says Tabriz has been a place where cultures met and traded ideas since ancient times, and its historic bazaar was one of the most important trading centers on the Silk Road.
Iran's census via City Population: Tabrīz (East Azerbaijan, capital of the province) 1,558,693 (census 24 Sep 2016), rank 6 after Tehran (8,693,706), Mashhad (3,001,184), Isfahan (1,961,260), Karaj (1,592,492) and Shiraz (1,565,572); East Azerbaijan province 3,909,652 (2016).
UNESCO: Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity, and its Historic Bazaar Complex is one of the most important commercial centers on the Silk Road; inscribed 2010, criteria (ii)(iii)(iv), 28.97 ha.
- Country
- Iran (capital of East Azerbaijan province)
- People in Tabriz (census 2016)
- 1,558,693
- Rank in Iran (2016)
- sixth, after Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj and Shiraz
- World Heritage
- Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex, inscribed in 2010
City lights at night
It is nighttime in Tabriz. Lights shine in the windows of tall buildings, and streetlights glow along the roads.
This photo shows Roshdiyeh, a district of Tabriz, on the night of 29 March 2011. Rows of tall blocks glow with light in front, and behind them thousands of lights spread out across the city to the horizon. Tall electricity pylons stand between the buildings and a dark hillside.
The old heart of Tabriz, with its famous bazaar, is several kilometers away from this district.
Commons: Panoramio photo 50236883 by p.pourabedin, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Panoramio upload bot, 2016, reviewed); title 'Roshdiyeh (شهرک رشدیه)', taken 29 March 2011; the Panoramio camera point (38.0847° N, 46.3671° E) is 6.33 km E of the Wikidata city point.
In the picture: a dark slope with streetlights and a bright lamp flare at bottom left; tall blocks of buildings; electricity pylons; a wide spread of city lights under a black sky. Wikidata: Tabriz Bazaar (Q4399) is 0.84 km NNW of the city point, so it lies about 6.6 km from the camera.
- Photo
- Roshdiyeh, a district of Tabriz, at night, 29 March 2011
- Camera point
- about 6.3 km east of the city's Wikidata point (Panoramio)
- Tabriz Bazaar
- about 0.8 km north-northwest of the city's Wikidata point
A trading city on the Silk Road
Long ago, traders came to Tabriz from far away. They bought and sold goods in its big covered market.
UNESCO says Tabriz has been a meeting place of cultures since ancient times. The city lay on one of the busiest trade routes between east and west, and by the 13th century Tabriz and its bazaar were already rich and famous.
UNESCO says Tabriz lost its role as a capital in the 16th century but stayed an important trading city until the end of the 18th century.
UNESCO: Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity; the Bazaar, located along one of the most frequented east-west trade routes, has been one of the most important international places for commercial and cultural interchange, thanks to centuries-old trading connections and a policy of endowments and tax exemptions; Tabriz and its Bazaar were already prosperous and famous in the 13th century; the town lost its status as capital in the 16th century, but remained important as a commercial hub until the end of the 18th century, with the expansion of Ottoman power.
No opened source gives a founding year.
- Since antiquity
- a place of cultural exchange (UNESCO)
- 13th century
- Tabriz and its bazaar already prosperous and famous (UNESCO)
- Until the end of the 18th century
- an important commercial hub (UNESCO)
Inside the covered bazaar
In the bazaar, you walk along covered brick lanes. Shops and halls line the way.
UNESCO describes Tabriz's historic bazaar as a series of connected, covered brick buildings and enclosed spaces, used for trade, meetings and learning.
The bazaar's own way of organizing its traders and crafts has kept it working for centuries, UNESCO says, so that it acts as one connected whole. The protected area covers almost 29 hectares.
UNESCO: a series of interconnected, covered brick structures, buildings and enclosed spaces for a variety of functions (commercial and trade-related activities, social gatherings, educational and other practices); closely interwoven with the architecture is the social and professional organization of the Bazaar, which has allowed it to function over the centuries as a single integrated entity; specialized architectural structures, functions, professions and people from different cultures integrated in a living environment; property 28.9733 ha, buffer zone 75.4082 ha; serial property.
Wikidata: Tabriz Bazaar (Q4399), bazaar in Tabriz and an Iranian national heritage site, 0.84 km NNW of the city point.
- The bazaar
- a series of interconnected, covered brick structures, buildings and enclosed spaces (UNESCO)
- Uses
- trade, social gatherings and education, among others (UNESCO)
- Area
- 28.97 hectares, with a buffer zone of 75.41 hectares (UNESCO)
Cold winters, hot dry summers
Winters in Tabriz are freezing cold. Summers are hot and very dry.
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages for Tabriz for 1961 to 1990, the average daily high in January is just 1.2 °C, and the average low is -6.6 °C. July is hot, with an average high of 32.9 °C.
Tabriz is dry: only about 311 millimeters of rain and snow fall in a year. April is the wettest month, with 53.6 millimeters, while July gets just 3.2 and August 4.4.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Tabriz (38.07° N, 46.28° E; Islamic Republic of Iran Meteorological Organization), 1961–1990: mean daily maximum 1.2 °C (January) to 32.9 °C (July); mean daily minimum -6.6 °C (January) to 19.6 °C (July), below 0 °C in December, January and February. Precipitation sums to 311.1 mm; June to September bring only 35.1 mm (11%); April (53.6 mm) is the wettest month and July (3.2 mm) the driest. Days with at least 1 mm add up to about 60.
- Average daily highs (WMO, Tabriz, 1961–1990)
- 1.2 °C (January) to 32.9 °C (July)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- -6.6 °C (January) to 19.6 °C (July)
- Rain and snow in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 311 mm
A market that is also a meeting place
People go to the bazaar to shop and to meet friends. Tabriz also has a garden called El-Goli that is protected as heritage.
UNESCO says Tabriz's bazaar is not only a place to buy and sell: people also gather there to meet and to learn, and people from different cultures have worked side by side in it. Its buildings and spaces became a model for Persian town planning.
About 8 kilometers southeast of the city's center point on Wikidata is El-Goli, a garden that is listed as a national heritage site.
UNESCO: the Bazaar developed over the centuries into an exceptional physical, economic and social complex in which specialized buildings, functions, professions and people from different cultures are integrated in a unique living environment; its diversified buildings and spaces have been a prototype for Persian urban planning; it is one of the most complete examples of the traditional commercial and cultural system of Iran.
Wikidata (from the city point Q80053): El-Goli (Q4810167), a garden and Iranian national heritage site, 8.14 km SE.
- Meeting place
- the bazaar has been used for social gatherings as well as trade (UNESCO)
- El-Goli
- a garden and Iranian national heritage site (Wikidata)
- A model for others
- the bazaar's buildings and spaces became a prototype for Persian urban planning (UNESCO)
Tabriz on the map
Find Iran on the globe, in Asia. Look at its top left corner. Tabriz is there.
Tabriz lies at about 38.1° north and 46.3° east, in the province of East Azerbaijan in the northwest of Iran.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, Tabriz Bazaar is about 0.8 kilometers north-northwest, the Roshdiyeh district in the photo about 6.3 kilometers east and the El-Goli garden about 8.1 kilometers southeast.
Tabriz lies at about 38.07° N and 46.30° E (Wikidata point Q80053; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 1.62 km N of it). From the Wikidata point: Tabriz Bazaar 0.84 km NNW; the photo's Panoramio camera point 6.33 km E; El-Goli 8.14 km SE. The WMO station point (38.07° N, 46.28° E) is 1.48 km WSW of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 38.1° north
- Longitude
- about 46.3° east
- Province
- East Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran
Amazing facts
-
Tabriz's big market has roofs over its lanes and halls.
Tabriz's historic bazaar is made of connected, covered brick buildings and halls, UNESCO says.
UNESCO: a series of interconnected, covered brick structures, buildings and enclosed spaces for different functions.
-
Traders came to Tabriz from far away on the Silk Road.
UNESCO calls the Tabriz bazaar one of the most important trading centers on the Silk Road.
UNESCO: one of the most important commercial centres on the Silk Road, along one of the most frequented east-west trade routes.
-
In July it almost never rains in Tabriz.
In the WMO table, July in Tabriz gets only 3.2 millimeters of rain, while April gets 53.6.
WMO table for Tabriz (1961–1990): July 3.2 mm (0.8 days of at least 1 mm), April 53.6 mm.
-
Tabriz is one of the biggest cities in Iran.
In Iran's 2016 census, Tabriz was the sixth-largest city, with 1,558,693 people.
Census 2016: Tabriz 1,558,693, rank 6 after Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Karaj and Shiraz.
Words to know
- bazaar
- a market with many shops and stalls, often in covered lanes
- Silk Road
- old trade routes that linked China and Asia with the Middle East and Europe
- province
- a large area of a country with its own local government
- hectare
- an area of land 100 meters by 100 meters
- World Heritage site
- a place UNESCO lists as important for all people to protect
- census
- an official count of all the people in a place
Discovery challenge
-
Tabriz is a city in which country?
Tabriz is the capital of a province in which country?
East Azerbaijan province, with its capital at Tabriz, is in which country?
- Iran
- Egypt
- India
Show the answer
Iran
Iran!
Iran.
Iran.
-
What is the big old covered market in Tabriz called?
What is Tabriz's World Heritage site?
Which part of Tabriz did UNESCO inscribe on the World Heritage List in 2010?
- The bazaar
- A harbor
- A castle
Show the answer
The bazaar
The bazaar!
The historic bazaar.
The Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex.
-
Which old trade road went through Tabriz?
UNESCO says Tabriz's bazaar was one of the most important trading centers on which route?
Tabriz's bazaar lay along one of the most frequented east-west routes, known as what?
- The Silk Road
- Route 66
- The Amber Road
Show the answer
The Silk Road
The Silk Road!
The Silk Road.
The Silk Road.
-
What is the bazaar in Tabriz built from?
UNESCO says the bazaar's covered buildings are made of what?
UNESCO describes the bazaar as a series of interconnected, covered structures of which material?
- Brick
- Glass
- Ice
Show the answer
Brick
Brick!
Brick.
Brick.
-
Which month is the wettest in Tabriz?
In the WMO table, which month brings the most rain and snow to Tabriz?
WMO table for Tabriz (1961–1990): which month has the highest precipitation, 53.6 mm?
- April
- July
- September
Show the answer
April
April!
April.
April (53.6 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Tabriz in northwestern Iran.
- Explain why a city on a busy trade route could grow rich.
- Describe how a covered bazaar works as both a market and a meeting place.
- Read a dry continental climate table with cold winters and almost rainless summers.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might traders from far away want to meet in one big covered market?
- How is a bazaar like, or unlike, a shopping mall today?
- Why do you think so little rain falls in Tabriz in summer?
Try at home or in class
- Bazaar map: draw a covered market with connected lanes, a courtyard and shops for different crafts.
- Rain chart: make a bar chart of Tabriz's monthly precipitation and mark the driest months.
- Area math: the bazaar covers about 29 hectares. How many soccer fields of about 0.7 hectares would fit inside?
Key vocabulary: bazaar, Silk Road, province, hectare, World Heritage site, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Iran: Provinces and Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from Iran's census results
- Tabriz: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Roshdiyeh ( شهرک رشدیه ) - panoramio.jpg (p.pourabedin, March 2011) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.