Sights

Sa'di tomb in Shiraz the capital of Fars province

Ehsan Pahloosai from Shiraz city

BAG-E ERAM, a famous and beautiful garden at Shiraz. Its site close to the embankment of the Rudkhana-ye Kushk was formerly on the northwestern fringe of the city but is now well inside the greatly expanded urban area. The present garden and mansion are not very old but, like the other famous gardens of Shiraz, may well have replaced an earlier foundation. Forsat Shirazi, a contemporary of Fasa'i, praised the Bag-e Eram for its beautiful flowers, refreshing air, tall cypresses (a stately, beautiful cypress tree there known as sarv-e naz has long been a major tourist attraction), fragrant myrtles, flowing wa of the constructional work and praises of the then owner Nasir-al-Molk. After the coup d'etat of 1332 - 5./1953 and the exile of the Qashqa'i brothers, who in the meantime had regained ownership of the Bag-e Eram, the government confiscated the garden and later on gave it to Pahlavi University (now the University of Shiraz).

During this period the former mud walls were replaced with iron railings, old trees were cut down to make room for lawns, and a broad street named Eram Boulevard was laid out on the northwest side. Early during the revolution of 1357 5./1978-79. the Qashqa'is repossessed the garden; shortly afterward its owner Khosrow Khan dedicated it to the people of Shiraz. The garden has now been made into a botanical garden and the mansion has been assigned to the Faculty of Law of the university.

As of October 2009, the trees and walkways were fine but the flower beds were largely in poor condition. The roses were straggly and needed a severe pruning.

The Tomb of Hafez

Hafez' tomb is the closest to the town centre. Built in 1953 in a garden, the mausoleum is a small open pavilion; inside which is a marble tombstone with several of the poets' verses. One of the nicest teahouses (chaikhaneh) in Shiraz is in the grounds of Hafez, set around a rectangular pool. You can sit around on cushions sip a cup of tea, or rose water while reflecting on his poetry. Hafez spent most of his life in his native town and died there in 1389. He is considered the undisputed master of the ghazal1, and his poems reflect a richness and a subtlety unequalled even by the other great talent, Saadi

The Tomb of 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.