Shiraz

(1500m 4900 ft)

(Pop 1,800.000)

Fars Province

Iran

May 12. 2022

On our first day In Shiraz, our group visited three important sites.

THE TOMB OF HAFEZ IS in a peaceful, garden setting that drips with an ambience of poetry and romance. The 14th-century writer is considered the Shakespeare of Iran, one of the greatest Persian poets of all time, and a source of national pride.

Hafez’s collected works, the Divān, is regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature.  Most every home in the country contains this book, and it is regularly read and consulted for guidance and inspiration. The poet is revered as a folk hero to this day, and people congregate at his tomb, especially at sunset, to pay their respects.

ERAM GARDEN (Persian: باغ ارم, Bāgh-e Eram) is an historic Persian garden. The garden, and the building within it, are located at the northern shore of the Khoshk River in the Fars province.

It is unclear when construction of the gardens began, however historical evidence suggests that the gardens were built during the Seljuk Empire (11th-14th centuries) under the rule of Ahmad Sanjar.

Today, Eram Garden and building are within Shiraz Botanical Garden of Shiraz University. They are open to the public as a historic landscape garden. They are World Heritage Site and protected by Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.

SHAH CHERAGH (Persian: شاه چراغ) is a funerary monument and mosque in Shiraz, Iran, housing the tomb of the brothers Ahmad and Muhammad, sons of Mūsā al-Kādhim and brothers of ‘Alī ar-Ridhā. The two took refuge in the city during the Abbasid persecution of Shia Muslims. Shāh-é-Chérāgh is Persian for "King of the Light."

The tombs became celebrated pilgrimage centers in the 14th century when Queen Tashi Khatun erected a mosque and theological school in the vicinity. The site was given this name due to the nature of the discovery of the site by Ayatullah Dastghā'ib (the great grandfather of the contemporary Ayatullah Dastghā'ib). He used to see light from a distance and decided to investigate the source. He found that the light was being emitted by a grave within a graveyard.

The grave that emitted the light was excavated, and a body wearing an armor was discovered. The body was wearing a ring saying al-‘Izzatu Lillāh, Ahmad bin Mūsā, meaning "The Pride belongs to God, Ahmad son of Musa".  Thus, it became known that this was the burial site of the sons of Mūsā al-Kādhim.