Zephyrous Travels: Iran Day 2: Shiraz (2 Mar 11) - The City of Poets: A Visit to Sa'adi and Hafez Tombs

We woke up in time to meet up with our driver at 4.30 am who drove us to the domestic airport. Tehran at this hour is very different from what we saw yesterday. It seem like the city is still in slumber, there are hardly any cars on the streets and the journey to the airport did not take too long. Our driver was very dedicated and responsible, ensuring we checked into the right counter and entered the right gate before the leaves us. At the X-ray machine, my Cyrus cylinder crate got quite abit of attention. The staff at the x-ray machine was curious what it is, our driver spoke to them in Farsi, they gave us a blank look and then signal for us to proceed on. Time has came for us to board the aircraft. A bus drove us to the tarmac, at the tarmac while waiting to board the aircraft, we were happily snapping pictures. After taking some pictures, 2 Iranian told us discreetly that we are not allowed to take pictures in the airport and told us politely to put our cameras away before they get confiscated. We quickly did what was advised and boarded the aircraft. The flight from Tehran to Shiraz took about 2 hours, the flight was uneventful but scenic. We flew past the Zagros Mountains, which runs North/South to the west of Iran.

A quite domestic airport terminal in Tehran

At the tarmac waiting to board Air Iran towards Shiraz

Inside the cabin of Air Iran getting ready to fly

Breakfast is served

Glimpse of Zagros Mountain

Zagros Mountains from air

We touched down 2 hours later, collected our luggages and our guide is already waiting for us. He introduced himself and briefly told us the itinerary for the day. As we are not able to check in at the time we arrived in Shiraz, our guide took us to some of the attractions in downtown Shiraz. Our first stop is the public bath. We were told back in those days, not all household will have tap water, as such people don't shower everyday. However they need to shower everytime they enter a mosque for prayers, thus this bath was built beside the mosque. We entered the bath and the first room, which was rather large is the waiting room. There are some carvings on the ceiling of this room, which depicts some day-to-day life of the locals then. Once we past the waiting room the rest of the bath is disappointing, as this bath has been converted into a carpet museum and an arts & craft centre. Only the waiting room still look like what it was before, the other rooms like the changing and the washing room do not resemble a bath at all. We did not spend alot of time in the bath as it was not really worth spending alot of time in. We headed next door for the mosque after exiting the bath.

Mosque in Shiraz while driving towards the Public Bath

Entrance to the Public Bath

The exquisite carvings on the ceilings of the bath

Persian Folklore carved on the ceiling of the bath

The main waiting room inside the bath

Inside the Public Bath

A relatively simpler carving inside the bath

From the outside the mosque does not seem to impress me alot, especially after the disappointment I got from the public bath next door. I wasn't really expecting anything great before entering the mosque. Once past the door, my viewpoint changed. Perhaps it has been a long time since I have seen so much space, the first impression I got from standing at the door looking into the courtyard of this mosque was it is so carefree, so tranquil, could be the result of the absence of tall buildings around which gave me a view of the cloudless sky and the unthreatening sun beams, which doesn't feel as potent as that in Singapore in midst of the winter here. We were told that the need for such a large courtyard so that place in Shiraz can gather here. This Jameirah Mosque not only function as a place of prayers, it is also a place of education and socialisation. We then went further into the prayer halls, this felt like a set from Lord of the Rings in the dwarven mines. The columns were neatly arranged to give a rather mystical feel to the area. Our guide went on to explain the different functions on the mosque, I did not really pay alot of attention to his introductions as I was captivated by the mystic-ness of this place. Truly stunting!

The entrance to Jemeirah Mosque

Persian Styled Entrance to the mosque

The courtyard of Jemeirah Mosque

Entrance to the prayer halls of the mosque

Facade of the prayer halls

Inside the prayer halls of Jemeirah Mosque

Even the columns are carved to elevated it of its dullness

The intriguing patterns on the ceilings of the prayer hall

Looks like a page out of the movies

Inside the prayer halls

We were told this is where the priest sits to address the devotees

Me in front of the prayer halls inside Jemeirah Mosque

We headed for the bazaar, which was right next door to the Jameirah Mosque. Our guide had explained that the purpose of building the bazaar next to the Jameirah Mosque, so that people can do their marketing after their prayers. This bazaar was similar to that in Tehran, except that it is not as big. One can still find day-to-day necessities here as well as some handicraft shops and shops catering to the tourists selling souvenirs. The bazaar was interesting initially, but they turned out to be repetitive after awhile. Perhaps they do not offer items that intrigue me, or maybe I am just not a good shopper. I was skimming through the bazaar like a zombie after about 5 mins inside. I was kinda glad when we exited the bazaar as it started to feel like a waste of time.

The bazaar beside Jemeirah Mosque

They have stuffs for the locals to do their weekly marketing

Inside a typical Persian Bazaar

Locals doing their marketing and preparing for the Persian New Year

This section sells clothings

Open area inside the bazaar

Inside a typical Persian Bazaar

We were driven to the Tomb of Sa'adi, one of the famous poets in Shiraz. After parking the car, our guide took us to this ice-creamy opposite the tomb. Prior to our trip to Iran, we have come to know that the Shirazi ice-cream is rather unique and it is a must try. We got a cup each and started to eat the ice-cream. It is indeed very different from what we are used to, the ice-cream is rather starchy and is very tasty but the scooping part takes abit more effort. Our guide told us that they used animal fat to make this ice-cream, and it is not healthy to eat everyday. After savouring the ice-cream, we headed for the tomb. The tomb of Sa'adi was at the end of a garden. We were told the initial design of this tomb does not have this big of a garden, it was subsequently added by the locals as a mark of respect to Sa'adi and his teachings. The building that housed the tomb looked like a pavilion with a dome-shaped roof. Inside the tomb was Farsi writings carved onto the wall, which was some of the poems that Sa'adi had writen There is an extension to the left when you face it from the entrance. This is where the greatest fan of Sa'adi is buried, however it is locked at the time we were there, can't enter it. From the outside, I saw some pictures and an empty room, rather boring. We were then brought to this fish pond, which was built underground. The fascinating part about this pond is not the fishes but how and where the water for this pond came about. We were told that the water is irrigated from the nearby mountains some 6km away. These water was also channeled to a second fish pond nearer to the entrance of the Tomb. After visiting the tomb, we were ferried to our hotel to check in and get some rest, as the next attraction is best seen nearer to sunset. After checking in, we did not rest, instead we spent the afternoon walking around the neighbourhood. Nothing eventful happened though.

A typical Mosque in Shiraz

The Streets on Shiraz

Walking towards Tomb of Sa'adi

This modest building is where Sa'adi is buried

Tomb of Sa'adi

Under this stone is where Sa'adi - one of the greatest poets in Persia was buried

Teachings of Sa'adi engraved on the wall where he was buried

This entrance leads to where Sa'adi's greatest fan is buried

Walking around the tomb of Sa'adi

The source of the water in this underground pond is from the nearest mountain some 6km away

Even the underground pond has very intriguing Persian patterns on it

3 hours later our guide picked us up. Our destination next is Eram gardens. This looks like any other garden to me, except that it has a building right in the centre of the garden. Perhaps it is winter, all the plants have yet to bloom, I find this garden rather dull and has nothing special. We did not spend alot of time in this garden, after about 30 mins later (which felt like a lifetime), we headed to Hafez Tomb, where another poet was buried. When we were about to enter the tomb grounds, there were 2 men at the entrance carrying a bird trying to get us to do some predictions. We ignored them and went into the tomb grounds. As with Tomb of Sa'adi, there is a garden between the entrance to the tomb itself. As we were climbing up the stairs towards the tombs, we came across this structure, which closely resemble the roman pillars. Past this structure is where the Hafez tomb lies. The single dome-roofed pavilion stood in the middle, our guide told us that in the centre is where Hafez was buried, under the pavilion. However the land around the pavilion is where his followers were buried! As the sun was setting, the pavilion was lighted up. It was beautiful! We spend some time walking around the tomb of Hafez before heading for dinner. The dinner was rather uneventful and we headed back to hotel to rest for the night.