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Globalization Visions
by Shiraz
Business Owners
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Shiraz,
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Shiraz
in Few
lines.
Provincial
Capital of Fars. Altitude 1,600 meters, 500 km S of Esfahan (935
km from Tehran) on a good road. 300 km N-E of Bushehr on a good
road in course of completion. 600 km E of Abadan on road in
process of being restored. International airport and link-up with
Iran Air Internal airline.
An
eight-kilometer-long motorway links the airport to the outskirts
of the town, eight uninterrupted kilometers of rose-garden, aptly
announcing Shiraz, the "City of roses and poets".
Parks
with magnificent trees are one of the town's attractions. Long
wide shady avenues lead from one side to the city other. They are
an incitement to leisurely wanderings during siesta time.
Exemplary modern achievements, including remarkable hotels and
very striking university buildings are conducive to a pleasant
stay. Because of the city's altitude (1,600 meters) the climate is
extremely pleasant. It is very mild in winter and not too hot in
summer. Nearby Persepolis and the international fame of its annual
art festival have confirmed Shiraz as a tourist center. The Bagh-e
Eram, in Shiraz, famous for its gardens, is a typical late Qajar
palace, now donated to Shiraz University.
Shiraz,
Naranjistan, 19th century. This very beautiful house and garden
which originally belonged to the Ghavam family now been restored
to become the home of the Asia Institute. A fine painted title
frieze borders the roof, while the facade has a dado of carved
stone slabs. The high central porch fronts a room lined with
mirror mosaic, and the garden has been restored to an original
design.
This
gives the capital of the Fars region a new dimension, but does not
prevent its inhabitants from demonstrating a touching devotion for
their leading poets, Hafez and 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.
Hafez
lived in Shiraz from 1300 to 1389. His verses are well-known to
all Iranians and, six centuries later, have still value as
aphorisms. His extraordinary popularity is due to his simple, and
frequently discursive language, rid of any affection and to the
use he makes of familiar images and of proverbial expressions.
Iranians feel that his best poetry is the "Ghazal"
engraved on his tomb. The Ghazal is a six to fifteen verse
composition in which the verses are linked together by a unity of
inspiration and of symbolism rather than by a logical sequence of
ideas. Here are a few verses:
Sit near my tomb, and bring wine and music - Feeling thy presence,
I shall come out of my sepulchre - Rise, softly moving creature,
and let me contemplate thy beauty.
The
populous quarters in the center of the city are busy trading
areas. The picturesque quality of the Iranian bazzar is enhanced
here by the presence of nomads or semi-nomad elements belonging to
southern Iranian tribes, including the Qashqais recognizable by
the women's brightly colored dresses. The open space of a large
esplande to the south of the bazzar gives one a chance to
appreciate from a sufficient distance the elegance or at least the
originality of pear-shaped domes above a high tambour covering two
mosque mausoleums: The Shah Shiragh and Seyed Mir Mohammad
Imamzadehs. The facades of the two buildings are not shaped like
those of traditional ivans. It is a portico supported by light
columns in the style of houses in Shiraz.
Near
the Bazaar-e Vakil, Masjed-e Vakil, the Regent's Mosque is
especially famous for its large prayer hall (75 meters long, 36
meters wide) covered with small cupolas resting on forty-eight
twisted columns cut out of one single block of stone.
Several
other religious edifices are worthy of interest. The Old Friday
Mosque has in the middle of its courtyard, a building found in no
other sanctuary: The Khoda Khane - "House of God" - a
square building (which reportedly) imitates the Kaaba in Mecca and
where the mosque's Korans are kept.
Shiraz
The capital of Fars province, city of poets, wine and flowers
Shiraz is the capital of Fars province, one of the most beautiful,
historical cities in the world. Farsi (Persian or
Parsi) the
language of Ancient Fars (Pars), has become the official language
of Iran (Persia).
Shiraz with more than 850,000 inhabitants situated in southwestern
Iran, in the inland around 200 km from the Persian Gulf, at an
elevation of 1,800 metres above sea level.
Different people have lived in the Fars province such as the
Aryans, the Samis and the Turks, who worked together to form the
Iranian culture.
The first Capital of Fars, some 2500 years ago, was Pasargad. It
was also the capital of Achaemenid
King Cyrus
the Great. The ceremonial capital of his successor, Darius
I (or Darius the Great), and his son Xerxes, was Persepolis.
Today, only the ruins of these two capitals remain. Stakhr was
another capital of Fars. It was established by the Sassanids
and lasted until Shiraz finally assumed the role of the regional
capital.
Shiraz is also the birthplace and resting place of the great
Persian poets Hafez
and Saadi.
There are two remarkable monuments in Shiraz. One is dedicated to
Hafez, the master of Persian lyrical poetry. The other one is
dedicated to Sa'adi, the author of the famous Golestan, a book of
sonnets called the Garden of Roses.
by
the 13th century, Shiraz had grown into one the largest and most
popular Islamic cities of the era. Shiraz lies spread out like an
immense garden on a green plain at the foot of the Tang Allah-o-Akbar
Mountains.
The most interesting buildings in Shiraz are located in the old
part of the town. Among them are about a dozen mosques, some with
bulb- shaped domes, and others with pear shaped domes and cupolas.
These mosques are mostly scattered in among the old houses.
The Masjid-e-Vakil (the Regent Mosque) has an impressive portal
containing faience panels in floral designs with various shades
and colors on each side. The northern iwan (verandah) is decorated
with shrubs and flowers, mainly rose bushes. The ceiling in Mihrab
Chamber (altar) is covered with small cupolas resting on twisted
columns. Vakil Bazaar, which is close by, was built by Karim Khan
Zand. Here silversmiths and jewelers still apply their trades of
exquisite inlay work. Persian carpets and other traditional
Persian handicrafts may also be purchased in the Vakil Bazaar.
About 50 km. Northwest of Shiraz, at the foot of the rahmat
Mountains, one encounters the vast platform and remains of
Persepolis, the grand ceremonial Capital built by Darius I (Darius
the Great) and his successors some 2500 years ago. Archeologists
are still combing through the debris and ashes that have covered
Persepolis since Alexander the Great destroyed it in 330 BC. Most
of the structures have already been revealed.
Pasargad
is located about 77 km away from Persepolis. It was built by Cyrus
the Great. Among the interesting sites at Pasargad is a stone
platform 80 m. long and 18 m. wide. It is believed to have been
the foundation of a palace. Close by are the ruins of a building
called the Prison of Solomon which was probably a fire temple.
The most important monument in Pasargad is undoubtedly the tomb of
Cyrus the Great. It has seven broad steps leading to the
sepulcher, which measures 534m. in length by 531m in width and has
a low and narrow entrance. When Alexander the Great looted and
destroyed Persepolis, he paid a visit to the tomb of Cyrus. It is
recorded that he commanded Aristobulus, one of his warriors, to
enter the monument. Inside he found a golden bed, a table set with
drinking vessels, a gold coffin, some ornaments studded with
precious stones and an inscription of the tomb, which reads:
"Passer-by, I am Cyrus the Great, I have given the
Persians an empire and I have ruled over Asia.
So do not envy me for this tomb."
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