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Shiraz County

Shiraz County is located in the southwest of Iran on the seasonal, Khoshk River.

Shiraz is the fifth most populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province.

In addition to its fame for being a major hub of “Electronic Industries” as well as “Medicine” in Iran, Shiraz is known as the “Cultural Capital” of Iran, which is inhabited by different ethnic groups.

Shiraz is regarded as the “Paradise of the Tourists”. Its geographical features provide for a range of activities including skiing in the winter resorts just some kilometers away, mountain climbing, and hiking in the woods.

Shiraz is famous for its wonderful Gardens; however, it can be visited for a diversity of purposes.

In the 13th century Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters due to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists.

Shiraz was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1800.

Two famous poets of Iran Hafez and Sa’di are from Shiraz whose tombs are on the north side of the current city boundaries.

Shiraz

Shiraz County, Iran

The crafts of Shiraz consist of inlaid mosaic work of triangular design silver-ware pile carpet-weaving and weaving of Gilim and Jajim in the villages and among the tribes.

 In Shiraz industries such as cement production sugar fertilizers textile products wood products metalwork and rugs dominate.

Shiraz also has a major oil refinery and is also a major center for Iran’s electronic industries: 53% of Iran’s electronic investment has been centered in Shiraz.

Shiraz is home to Iran first solar power plant.

Shiraz

Shiraz, Persepolis

Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran.

In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE.

To the ancient Persians, the city was known as Parseh, which means “The City of Persians”.

Among religious sights is Shahcheragh Shrine, housing the tomb of Ahmad ibn-e Musa, the brother of the eighth Imam Ali ibn-e Musa al-Reza, Vakil Mosque, Nasir al-Molk mosque, and Jame Atiq Mosque.

Another sight attributed to Achaemenid era is Pasargadae, which lies 43 Kilometers to the north of Persepolis.

Pasargadae was the first capital of the Achaemenid dynasty built in the reign of Cyrus the Great.

Saadi, and Hafez are two most popular poets of Shiraz and Iran.

Today, many people from all over the world come to visit their tombs.

Pasargadae

Pasargadae is the first dynastic capital of the Persian Achaemenian dynasty, situated on a plain northeast of Persepolis in southwestern Iran. Pasargadae was built by the first great Persian king, Cyrus the Great, as his palace and showpiece. Cyrus deserves his special place in the history of modern Persia. He began as a ruler of a petty kingdom in the southwestern corner of the habitable part of modern Iran. It was a totally new concept of a garden city that established many of the principles of what became Persian architecture. Pasargadae has in fact one really superb piece of architecture: it is the tomb of Cyrus, situated right on the edge of the main palace complex.  The tomb of Cyrus still stands almost intact, its simple lines and massive strength a perfect foil for its upland location. Constructed of huge white limestone blocks, its gabled tomb chamber rests on a rectangular stepped plinth, with six receding stages.

Pasargadae

Pasargadae stands as an exceptional witness to the Achaemenid civilization. The vast Achaemenid Empire, which extended from the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt to the Hindus River in India, is considered the first empire to be characterized by a respect for the cultural diversity of its peoples. This respect was reflected in the royal Achaemenid architecture, which became a synthesized representation of the empire’s different cultures. Pasargadae represents the first phase of this development into a specifically Persian architecture which later found its full expression in the city of Persepolis. Within the boundaries of the archaeological site of Pasargadae are located the known elements and components necessary to express the Outstanding Universal Value of the property, including the tomb of Cyrus the Great, the remains of the Tall-e Takht fortified platform, and the remains of the royal ensemble within the Four Gardens. The ancient capital extended much beyond the inscribed property, but has not yet been excavated.

Pasargadae

It is best to imagine Pasargadae as a group of garden pavilions in a park: essentially a camp of nomads, but made out of natural stone. Stylistically, the Audience Hall, Residential Palace, the garden pavilions A and B, and the Gate belonged to the architectural tradition of the Iranian nomads, who lived in large tents. However, Cyrus used elements from other cultures as well: sculptures from the Assyrian palaces were used as models, work may have been done by stonemasons from Greek Ionia, and a hybrid demon guarded the gate.

Pasargadae

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

Shiraz is one of the most significant city at the center of Fars province at the height of 1486 m above sea level, located in the Zagros mountainous area. Shiraz is known as the city of Poets literature wine and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens due to the many gardens and fruit trees. Here are the most popular attractions of Shiraz.

1- Perspolis

This magnificent court was the summer residence of the Achaemenid emperors and their official reception quarters. Although Alexander set on fire and destroyed it, in a gesture symbolizing the destruction of Persian imperial power, its impressive ruins permit a fairly complete reconstruction of its original appearance.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

2- Pasargadae

Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II the Great, in Pars, homeland of the Persians. Its palaces, gardens and the mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture and exceptional testimonies of Persian civilization.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

3-Eram Garden

Eram Garden, located along the northern shore of the Khoshk River in Shiraz, is one of the most famous and beautiful Persian gardens in all of Iran.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

4- Tomb of Hafez

The tombstone of Hafez lies in a beautiful garden which is another sample of Persian gardens. The architecture of this monument is amazing. The mausoleum has 8 pillars which signify the century when he lived.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

5- Tomb of Sa’di

The building was constructed by the Association for National Arts and the tomb of Sa’di was placed in an octagonal mausoleum with high dome and interesting tile works.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

6- Vakil Bazaar

Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz is the main section of the Shiraz Bazaar which was built by Karim Khan as part of a plan to make Shiraz into a prominent trading center.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

7- Mausoleum of Shah Cheragh

Shah-e Cheragh Shrine is a funerary monument and mosque in Shiraz, Iran, housing the tomb of the brothers Ahmad and Muhammad, sons of Musa al-Kadhim and brothers of Ali ar-Ridha.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

8- Ghalat Village

The village is a mixture of gardens and some houses which are mostly built with roughly shaped stones plus mortar. The village enjoys in its vicinity an eye-catching waterfall.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

9- Arjan Plain

Arjan magnificent plain is located 60 kilometers from Shiraz and 20 kilometers from Kazeroun city.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

10- Margoon Waterfall

The height of this waterfall is 70 meters and its width is 100 meters. This waterfall is in fact the source of a river and there are no rivers at the top of the mountain but there are several thousand springs on the mountain body from which water come out.

Top 10 tourist attractions of Shiraz

The Iranian Famous Men (Part 2)

Thirty-three names of Iranian Famous Men have been registered by UNESCO so far. 5 of these glorious celebrities was introduced in the first part. 5 others introduces in this part.

6. Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi (940–1020), was a Persian poet and the author of Shahnameh (Book of Kings), which is the world’s longest epic poem created by a single poet. Ferdowsi is celebrated as the most influential figure in Persian literature and one of the greatest in the history of literature.

7. Saib Tabrizi

Saib Tabrizi also called Saib Isfahani (born in Tabriz in 1592) was a Persian poet and one of the greatest masters of a form of classical Arabic and Persian lyric poetry characterized by rhymed couplets, known as the Ghazal.

8. Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam was a Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet. He was born in Neyshabur, in northeastern Iran. As a mathematician, he is most notable for his work on the classification and solution of cubic equations, where he provided geometric solutions by the intersection of conics. Khayyam also contributed to the understanding of the parallel axiom. As an astronomer, he designed the Jalali calendar, a solar calendar with a very precise 33-year intercalation cycle.

9. Jami

Jami, was a Persian poet, musician, literate and Sufi in 16th century. He is known for his achievements as a prolific scholar and writer of mystical Sufi literature. There are more than forty useful and valuable works from Jami.

10. Nima Yooshij

Ali Esfandiari, was a contemporary Persian and Tabarian poet who started the She’r-e now (new poetry) also known as She’r-e nimaa’i trend in Iran. He is considered as the father of modern Persian poetry.

The Iranian Famous Men (Part 1)

Thirty-three names of Iranian Famous Men have been registered by UNESCO so far. 5 of these glorious celebrities will introduced in this part.

1- Avicenna

Ibn Sina also known as Abu Ali Sina, Pur Sina, and often known in the west as Avicenna (980 – 1037), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, thinkers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age, and the father of modern medicine. Avicenna is also called the most influential philosopher of the pre-modern era.

His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine, a medical encyclopedia which became a standard medical text at many medieval universities and remained in use as late as 1650 in 1973, Avicenna’s Canon of Medicine was reprinted in New York.

2- Saadi Shirazi

Moshrefedin Muslih known Saadi Shirazi, the great Persian poet off all time, was born in Shiraz in the 13th century. He is recognized for the quality of his writings and for the depth of his social and moral thoughts. Saadi is widely recognized as one of the greatest poets of the classical literary tradition, earning him the nickname “Master of Speech” or “The Master” among Persian scholars. He has been quoted in the Western traditions as well. Bustan is considered one of the 100 greatest books of all time according to The Guardian.

3- Al Ghazali

Al-Ghazali was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, and mystics of Sunni Islam. He was of Persian origin.

4- Khwaja Abdullah Ansari

Abu Ismaïl Abdullah al-Herawi al-Ansari or Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1088) also known as “Sage of Herat”, was a Persian Sufi saint of Arab origin who lived in the 11th century in Herat (then Khorasan, now Herat province, Afghanistan). He was commentator of the Qur’an, traditionist, polemicist, and spiritual master, and also known for his oratory and poetic talents in Arabic and Persian.

5- Hafez Shirazi

Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (born in 1326 AD) is one of the most famous poets in Iranian history. Hafez was born in Shiraz, Iran. Hafez learnt the Quran by heart at an early age. Hafez also preserved the poetry of great poets such as Saadi, Attar, Rumi and Nezami during his adolescence. The Hefez Divan contains 500 sonnets, 42 quatrains and several tales that have been completed over 50 years.

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