Tour of shiraz

Shiraz is one of the largest touristy cities of Iran; additionally, it is a metropolitan city and the capital of Fars Province. Shiraz is the fifth populous city throughout the country.

Shiraz with its moderate climate is located in the central district of Fars Province, at an elevation of 1486 meters above sea level, in Zagros mountainous region. The city is surrounded by Mount Derak in the west, Mount Bamo, Sabzpoushan, Chehel Magham and Babakouhi within Zagros mountain range in the north.

Shiraz name was registered in historical books and documents with different names such as "Tizaris", "Shirazis" and "Shiraz". The primary location of the city was in Abou Nasr castle. Shiraz was transferred to its current location during Umayyad dynasty and it flourished at the cost of destroying Istakhr city, the old capital of Fars province. The city was the capital of Iran during Saffarid, Buyid, and Zand dynasties.

Shiraz has long been a natural place for local commodity exchanges between farmers, settlers and tribes due to its relative centrality in the fertilized area of Zagros south region. Moreover, the city is situated on Iran's domestic commercial routes to the south ports such as Bandar Bushehr (Bushehr Port).

Shiraz enchants many tourists because of its numerous historical, cultural, religious and natural attractions.

The basic monument of Hafiz tomb dates back to the era of Karim Khan Zand, 1773 AD. The primary building had an Iwan (a rectangular space usually vaulted) with for stone columns in the center where had entrances in the north and south, and two rooms on its other two sides. Hafiz tomb was situated outside the building in the middle of the cemetery rear of the building. Subsequently, some steel bars were installed around the tomb which made an inappropriate view. Eventually, between the years 1935 to 1938, Hafiz tomb was constructed to its current shape. Stones of water channels in Karim Khani Castle were transferred to Hafiz tomb because the channels were destructed during Zand Shiraz Street extension project. The four stone columns were preserved and 16 similar stone columns were provided to create the current large Iwan including 20 columns which is 56 meters in length. The Iwan is decorated with spectacular decorative paintings, plaster and tiling in the old and original style of Shiraz. In the second garden, some poems of Hafiz have been written on special places in the large Iwan, and the old gravestone was preserved on its main place.  

Shiraz is full of mesmerizing places to visit and feel and also a spectacular city for holding tours. Every corner of the city is a combination of poem, nature and mysticism that rejuvenate visitors. In this article, a mosque in Shiraz is introduced called Nasir-ol-molk Mosque which consists of poetry and colorful elements, in other words, it is a combination of color and light. In terms of coloring, the mosque is only comparable to The Blue Mosque in Istanbul and Al-Aqsa Mosque. This unique building possesses eye-catching tiling with both beautiful images and shapes that tiles' placement create.

Foreigner tourists describe Nasir-ol-molk Mosque as the followings:

Nasir-ol-molk Mosque

"Nasir-ol-molk Mosque is a kind of wonderland where you feel mesmerized and eager to spend many hours to visit. Some of foreinger tourists, who have travelled to Turkey, Tunisia, Malaysia, etc., are on this assumption that Nasir-ol-molk Mosque has a unique architecture and also more beautiful than the mosques in the mentioned countries. The blossom and flower images on the mosque's tiling are other elements which captivate the tourists' attention. According to the foreigner tourists' experiences, the designs of tiles in Nasir-ol-molk Mosque are more beautiful and various rather than the tiles of other countries' mosques which only have some Arabic words. They also are interested in the Iranian style of coloring. In addition, there is a consensus between foreigner tourists about and the excitement of taking photos in the mosque environment.    

Vakil Bazaar

Vakil Bazaar is another masterpiece of Zand dynasty architecture. The bazaar was constructed in the style of Qaisarie Lar Bazaar (relevant to Safavid era). Vakil Bazaar includes 74 Taq Zarbi (a type of ceiling in ancient Iranian architecture) that cover the bazaar's ceiling and resemble camel's hump in exterior view. The ceiling's height is another prominent characteristic of Vakil Bazaar. In fact, the ceiling is more than 10 meters in height with skylights which create a warm environment in winters, and cool weather in summers.

Jahan Nama

Jahan Nama has been a lush green garden during Muzaffarids, Injuids, and Safavid dynasties. The garden was renovated in command of Karim Khan Zand in 1771 AD. There is an octagonal mansion inside the garden similar to the pavilion in Nazar Garden. Four Shahneshins (in Iranian architecture, Shahneshin is a room on the southern part of a building with a high ceiling) including two-story rooms were constructed in the four corners of the garden. There is an octagonal pool inside the mansion which is made of an integrated onyx stone with a stone fountain in its center. Furthermore, painting decorations inside the mansion is highly elegant and precious.

Eram Garden

Eram Garden dates back to Seljuq dynasty which has been preserved during the entire Injuid dynasty. During Zand dynasty, Karim Khan had made some efforts to renovate the garden. The central two- story Iwan is considered as the most prominent feature of the garden. There is a crescent shape on the top of the building that displays tiling images of historical, literary and mythical characters. Poems of Saadi, Hafiz, and Shoorideh Shirazi were written by Mirza Ali Naghi (the well-known calligrapher during Qajar dynasty), in the style of Nasta'liq calligraphy on the mansion's skirting. Architecture, painting, tiling and plaster works are among Qajar architecture masterpieces. Six inscriptions can be observed on the eastern façade that were written in the style of Nast'aliq calligraphy. Moreover, different dates and the name of Nasir-ol Molk were written on all the six inscriptions.