or Basar, a denomination among the Turks and Persians, given to a kind of exchanges, or places where their finest stuffs and other wares are sold. These are also called bezeflirin. The word bazar seems of Arabic origin, where it denotes sale, or exchange of goods. Some of the eastern bazars are open, like the market-places in Europe, and serve for the same uses, more particularly for the sale of the bulky and less valuable commodities. Others are covered with lofty ceilings, or even domes, pierced to give light; and it is in these the jewellers, goldsmiths, and other dealers in the richer wares, have their shops. The bazar or maidan of Isfahan is one of the finest places in Persia, and even surpasses all the exchanges in Europe; yet, notwithstanding its magnificence, it is excelled by the bazar of Taunus, which is the largest that is known, having several times held 30,000 men ranged in order of battle. At Constantinople, there is the old and the new bazar, which are large square buildings, covered with domes, and sustained by arches and pilasters; the former chiefly for arms, harnesses, and the like; the latter for goldsmiths, jewellers, furriers, and all sorts of manufactures.