Book "Unforgettable Iran". Chapter 7.2 Sights of Shiraz
Shiraz - "city of gardens"
If you try to briefly describe Shiraz, you get "a city of gardens, flowers, poets and wine", and here's why. Shiraz is famous for its gardens, arranged in accordance with the descriptions of the afterlife gardens of bliss given in the Koran, there are mausoleums of prominent cultural figures of medieval Iran: Hafiz, Saadi, and before the revolution, this city was the largest center of winemaking.
It is best to start your acquaintance with the city with a visit to the Nasir-ol Molk Mosque (Masjid e Nasir-ol Molk), which many call the Pink Mosque. If you arrive early enough, then entering the prayer hall to the right of the mosque, you can see a stunning picture - the sunlight, passing through the multi-colored glass mosaics of stained-glass windows, floods the floor with bizarre color patterns. My friend showed a photo when the whole hall was flooded with light. Despite the fact that I had a map, as usual, I got lost and arrived at the mosque only at 11 o'clock, taking only a piece of multi-colored sunny happiness.
Very close by is the most beautiful Mandarin Garden (Bagh e Naranjestan), it is the smallest of all the gardens in Shiraz, but attracts with its richly decorated palace (Naranjestan e Ghavam) with a hall of mirrors and colored stained glass windows. I did not have time to visit it, but judging by the photos, this is one of the most beautiful gardens in Shiraz.
On the same street, if you walk towards the city, there is the Atig Jami Mosque (Masjid e Jame ye Atig), built in the 9th century. Here you can walk for a long time, visiting prayer places, but the oldest surviving part of the mosque is a small pavilion of Khoda-khane (House of God). It was built to store valuable manuscripts of the Qur'an and is reminiscent of the Kaaba in Mecca. It is believed that Hafiz composed poems here. Before entering, you will have to hand in your camera and bags, but it does not hurt to bring your mobile phone with you and take some photos.
The Vakil Mosque (Masjid e Vakil) is a must see. Of interest is the southern part of the room, supported by carved columns, as well as a mihrab and a staircase made of a piece of solid marble, which was brought from Azerbaijan.
Karim Khan's castle is located in the very center of the city. Being the de facto ruler of Iran, he never used the title "Shah" and refused to accept the royal title. A walk through the territory next to the fountains and citrus trees will not take much time, but in the museum you can take a photo of the military figures of Karim Khan and foreign ambassadors. Near the castle is the Karim Khan Mausoleum and the Fars Provincial Museum. One of the pavilions looks especially rich; it served the ruler to receive foreign delegations.
It won't take long to see the Afif-Abad garden and the military museum, but I wanted to stay here longer to walk around the main building and see the valuable rare exhibits in the weapons museum. I was interested in a huge collection of edged weapons and armor of the 14th century. You can go around the palace and admire the drawings and bas-reliefs on the facade, they repeat the reliefs on the palaces of Persepolis. Interestingly, the garden belongs to the military department, so the work of the cashiers and caretakers of the museum is performed by soldiers.
At the entrance to the city, in the gorge of the Great Allah (“Allah Akbar Gorje”), there is the Gate of the Koran (Darvaze ye Ghoran). Above the main passage in the Gate there is a special room where the Koran is kept, so that people entering and leaving the city, passing through the gate, can receive a blessing. The Koran Gate appeared in the 18th century on the orders of Karim Khan, but the modern building was built in 1949.
Walking on foot, I accidentally went into the Jahar Nam garden, on the sign it was written that it used to be one of the four most famous gardens of Shiraz. Today, it can only boast of an abundance of greenery and a cheap ticket.
Ten minutes later I arrived at the Mausoleum of Hafiz, the famous Persian poet and Sufi master. He wrote many lyrical ghazals (poems) about love, wine, the beauty of nature and roses, his poems are considered the pinnacle of Persian poetry. The mausoleum is a gazebo built over the poet's marble gravestone, where numerous pilgrims come. Among his works, the most popular is the poetry collection "Divan", excerpts from which are constantly recited to the music next to his mausoleum.
Transferring to the bus, I quickly reached the Mausoleum of Saadi, an earlier Persian poet and a prominent representative of Sufism. His poetic treatise "Bustan" (Fruit Garden) is one of the greatest works of Sufi literature, and Gulistan (Rose Garden) is still the reference book of every Persian and is memorized in schools from childhood.
Before leaving the city, I went to the store to buy postcards, and accidentally found among them a stunning photograph of a palace with a pond and tall cypresses. I was also fascinated by the beautiful name - the Garden of Eden (Bagh e Eram), and decided to definitely visit this piece of paradise. To get to Shiraz University, next to which this garden is located, I had to change several buses. But on the road, I met a local guy who brought me to the very entrance to the Garden of Eden. He climbed ahead of me to the ticket office and paid $4 for the ticket, I only had time to say “thank you” and was going to buy a ticket for himself with my money, but he already waved goodbye, said “had afes” and wished me a good time in Shiraz.
The Garden of Eden is currently the botanical garden with the most expensive entrance ticket in all of Iran, there were no discounts for students or for the local population. However, the territory is immersed in greenery, walking along the paths in the shade of trees, you can spend even the hottest day here with pleasure.
When you are in Shiraz, be sure to try Falyudeh (Faludeh ye Shirazi) - a cold dessert that looks like white vermicelli, which is made from cornstarch. Before serving, rose water and sweet lime (classic) or mint syrup are added to it. Falude is considered one of the first cold desserts, which was prepared as early as 400 BC. Then ice was used for its production, which was stored in special clay domes - refrigerators (yakhchal).
Author: Kozlovsky Alexander.
Book: "Unforgettable Iran". 159 days hitchhiking.
