Sareh Naji - MsC Student of Construction Technology- Istanbul Technical University
Samaneh Najjari Kahnamouie - Master of Science in Urban Design- Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch
Kadir Güler

Historical buildings are the cultural heritage of our ancestors and that is why these buildings are of great importance among the people of each country. In this regard maintenance and conservation of the historical structures should be significantly considered by public and government as a national duty in order to keep these precious buildings to be avaliable for next generations. It becomes more important to preserve historical buildings when they areto be considered as touristic and internationally well known places. One of the most important stages in preservation ofhistorical buildings is retrofitting and strengthening them against seismic loads. Historical buildings are mainlyconstructed of heavy masonry materials which cause the building to receive high values of seismic forces. Since Tabriz is a city which subjects to severe earthquakes, it is important to investigate the seismic resistance of historical buildings in this city and as a case study, the structural system of Tabriz Bazaar has been taken to be studied from the point ofseismic resistance. As it is known this bazaar is one of the most important historical places in Iran, and recently was registered in world heritage centre (USA). Thousands of people attend this bazaar every day for their livelihood or shopping or visiting. But unfortunately this gorgeous building is not resistant enough to tolerate severe earthquakes. Moreover human interventions in some parts of the building have damaged structural harmony that would be a trouble when the structure is exposed to seismic loads. According to these problems and some other structurally objections of Tabriz bazaar and regarding to the importance of the building, this manuscript present some solutions for retrofitting of Tabriz bazaar

Retrofitting, Historical Buildings, Tabriz Bazaar, Seismic