|
|
|
| |
Shiraz
|
| |
| Provincial
Capital of Fars. Altitude 1,600 meters, 500 km S of
Esfahan (935 km from Tehran) on a good road. 300 km N-E
of Bushehr on a good road in course of completion. 600 km
E of Abadan on road in process of being restored.
International airport and link-up with Iran Air Internal
airline. |
| |
| Bagh-e Eram |
 |
| Parks with
magnificent trees are one of the town's attractions. Long
wide shady avenues lead from one side to the city other.
They are an incitement to leisurely wanderings during
siesta time. Exemplary modern achievements, including
remarkable hotels and very striking university buildings
are conducive to a pleasant stay. Because of the city's
altitude (1,600 meters) the climate is extremely
pleasant. It is very mild in winter and not too hot in
summer. Nearby Persepolis and the international fame of
its annual art festival have confirmed Shiraz as a
tourist center. The Bagh-e Eram,
in Shiraz, famous for its gardens, is a typical late
Qajar palace, now donated to Shiraz University. |
| |
| Saadi |
 |
| This gives the
capital of the Fars region a new dimension, but does not
prevent its inhabitants from demonstrating a touching
devotion for their leading poets, Hafez and Saadi. Saadi
died in 1291 at the age of 100. He asked for the
following inscription on his tomb: "From the tomb
of Saadi, son of Shiraz - The perfume of love escapes -
Thou shalt smell it still one thousand years after his
death."
The many
Iranians who come to visit these gardens of rest briefly
place two fingers on the flag-stone of their favorite
poet as a gesture of tribute.
|
| Hafez-e Shirazi |
 |
| The populous
quarters in the center of the city are busy trading
areas. The picturesque quality of the Iranian bazzar is
enhanced here by the presence of nomads or semi-nomad
elements belonging to southern Iranian tribes, including
the Qashqais recognizable by the women's brightly colored
dresses. The open space of a large esplande to the south
of the bazzar gives one a chance to appreciate from a
sufficient distance the elegance or at least the
originality of pear-shaped domes above a high tambour
covering two mosque mausoleums: The Shah Shiragh and
Seyed Mir Mohammad Imamzadehs. The facades of the two
buildings are not shaped like those of traditional ivans.
It is a portico supported by light columns in the style
of houses in Shiraz. |
| |
| Masjed-e Vakil |
 |
| Near the
Bazaar-e Vakil, Masjed-e Vakil, the Regent's Mosque is
especially famous for its large prayer hall (75 meters
long, 36 meters wide) covered with small cupolas resting
on forty-eight twisted columns cut out of one single
block of stone. |
| |
| Khoda Khane |
 |
| Several other
religious edifices are worthy of interest. The Old Friday
Mosque has in the middle of its courtyard, a building
found in no other sanctuary: The Khoda Khane - "House
of God" - a square building
(which reportedly) imitates the Kaaba in Mecca and where
the mosque's Korans |
| |
| |
|
Back |
|
|
