About Shiraz The City: Shiraz is a city of sophistication that has been celebrated as the heartland of Persian culture for more than 2000 years. Known as the Dar-ol-Elm (House of Learning),the City of Roses,City of Love and City of Gardens,Shiraz has become synonymous with education, nightingales, and poetry. It was one of the most important cities in the medieval Islamic world and was the Iranian capital during the Zand dynasty (AD 1747–79), when many of its most beautiful buildings were built or restored. This city is situated in the south east of Iran and is the capital city of Fars Province, with a population of about 1 500 000. Shiraz is mild in spring and hot in the summer. The autumns in Shiraz are not too cold; however, the winters tend to be quite cold. Sites to Visit: The Shrine of Shahe-e-Cheragh Sayyed Mir Ahmad,one of Imam Reza’s 17 brothers, was hunted down and killed by the caliphate on this site in AD 835. His remains are housed at the glittering Aramgah-e Shah-e Cheragh. A mausoleum was first erected over the grave during the 12th century but most of what you see dates from the late-Qajar period and the Islamic Republic; expansion is ongoing. Persepolis Persepolis (Old Persian: Pārsa,Takht-e Jamshid or Chehel Minar) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330BCE). 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 (Throne of Jamshid). The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BCE. To the ancient Persians,the city was known as Pārsa,which means "The City of Persians". Persepolis is a transliteration of the Greek Πέρσης πόλις (Persēs polis: "Persian city"). Vakil Bazaar Shiraz’s ancient trading district is comprised of several bazaars dating from different periods. The finest and most famous is theBazar-e Vakil,a cruciform structure commissioned by Karim Khan as part of his plan to make Shiraz into a great trading centre. The wide vaulted brick avenues are masterpieces of Zand architecture,with the design ensuring the interior remains cool in summer and warm in winter. Today, it’s home to almost 200 stores selling carpets, handicrafts, spices and clothes and is one of the most atmospheric bazaars in Iran, especially in the early evening when it is fantastically photogenic. As usual , it’s best explored by wandering without concern for time or direction, soaking up the atmosphere in the maze of lanes leading off the main thoroughfares. Hafez Tomb Iranians have a saying that every home must have two things: first the Quran,then Hafez. Hafez is an influential Iranian poet. Almost every Iranian can quote his work ,bending it to whichever social or personal persuasion they subscribe to. And there is no better place to try to understand Hafez’s eternal hold on Iran than at Aramgah-e Hafez ,his tomb. Set at the back of the ground of Hafez’s tomb is a teahouse which is a great place to chill out with some live traditional music and a cup of chay . Vakil Mosque: The beautiful Masjed-e Vakil was begun by Karim Khan and is the only major mosque surviving from the late Zand period. Beside the entrance to the bazaar,it has two vast iwans to the north and south,a magnificent inner courtyard surrounded by beautifully tiled alcoves and porches,and a pleasingly proportioned 75m-by-36m vaulted prayer hall supported by 48 carved columns. Inside the prayer hall are an impressive mihrab and 14-step marble minbar, carved from a monolith carried all the way from Azerbaijan. Much of the tiling,with its predominantly floral motifs and arabesques,was added in the early Qajar era. Naranjestan Garden Bagh-e Naranjestan is Shiraz’s smallest garden and is famous as the setting for the opulently decoratedNaranjestan-e Ghavampavilion,built between 1879 and 1886,as part of a complex owned by one of Shiraz’s wealthiest Qajar-era families. The pavilion’s mirrored entrance hall opens onto rooms covered in a breathtaking combination of intricate tiles,inlaid wooden panels and stained-glass windows. Ceilings in the upstairs rooms are particularly interesting,with the beams painted with European-style motifs,including Alpine churches and busty German frauleins. House of Zinat ol-Molk Down a small lane beside the garden is the Khan-e Zinat ol-Molk,which was originally the private,andaruni area of the complex and is named after its last owner,the daughter of the builder Qavam. Today most of the finely decorated rooms are stuffed with exhibits in the Fars History Museum,while others serve as galleries for young Shirazi artists. The gardens are in a walled compound 400m south of the Nasir ol-Molk Mosq. Eram Garden Famous for its tall cypress trees,the delightful Bagh-e Eram will impress visitors of all ages with its stunning sceneries and various flowers and trees. The gardens are managed by Shiraz University. The gardens are easy enough to reach by taking any shuttle taxi going along Zand towards the university. Saadi Tomb The Aramgah-e Sa’di and its generous surrounding gardens are appropriate for a man who wrote so extensively about gardens and roses. It’s a tranquil place,with the tombstone housed in an open-sided stone colonnade,inscribed with various verses from Sa’di and supporting a tiled dome. Iranian poet Sa'adi, from the 13th century, is one of the major influential Persian poets of the medieval period. He is recognised in the literary world for the quality of his writing style and in the spiritual realm for the depth of his thoughts. One particular poem written eight centuries ago became a motto and decorates the gate of the United Nations building entrance. Bani Adam, the Children of Adam, is an aphorism calling for the breaking of all barriers . In Persian: A simpler translation: The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, You are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human. Useful Information Iran as a Four Seasons Country The Iranian plateau today is a land surrounded by high mountains and spotted by warm lowlands. Two important mountain ranges, each with peaks over 5,000 meters high, stretch from the northwestern corner of the plateau, the current Azerbaijan province, to the south and east. The eastern branch, Alborz, boasts the highest peak of the two ranges, Mt. Damavand. The Alborz range creates a high barrier south of the Caspian Sea, making serious impacts on the climate of the plateau. While lush forests and pastures abound south of the Caspian and give it a mild, humid weather, the Alborz prevents the passing of the rain-rich clouds to the inside of the plateau, causing very low rainfall, and thus creating a dry and mostly warm climate south of the mountains. The second mountain range, Zagros, stretches from northwest to the south and diverts to the east just north of the Persian Gulf. It does not cause as much complications as the Alborz, since the height of the Zagros peaks decrease around the Persian Gulf, allowing more clouds to move over the mountains. In areas were Zagros forms two branches, just south of Azerbaijan; an inhabitable area has been created that shows some of the oldest signs of settlement on the plateau. Inside the country, there are two major deserts; one, Dasht-e Kavir, around 200 km east of modern Tehran and at the feet of the Alborz range, is covered with sand and is mainly uninhabited. The smaller desert, Lut, is not as dry and provides enough resources for the survival of small communities. These two deserts, both pushing towards the east, have caused the shift of population to the west, north, and south of the plateau. In addition to the southern Caspian region, two more regions, one north of the Persian Gulf and east of the point of the meeting of Tigris and Euphrates, and the other at the point of meeting of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Omman, are agriculturally very prosperous. The rivers of Iran are few and mainly seasonal. From the major rivers, only Karunin the south, Aras in the northwest, and Sepid-rud in the north flow year round, and only Karun is deep enough for modern navigation. General Information Transportation, Currency, Weather and... About Shiraz University Establishment & History of Shiraz University The initial nucleus of Shiraz University was formed in 1946 with the establishment of the junior college of Health which aimed at training specialists in the Medical Sciences during a four year program. In 1949 this was transformed to a Medical College and shortly thereafter in 1953 the Namazi School of Nursing and in 1955 the Colleges of Agriculture and Arts and Sciences were established. Shiraz University which, prior to the Islamic Revolution, was called Pahlavi University was founded in 1954 with the addition of the College of Engineering and College of Veterinary Medicine. Other units that were subsequently added were the Dental School in 1969, the Graduate School and the Junior College of Electronics in 1969, and the Colleges of Law and Education in 1977. After the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Revolutionary Council was founded in 1980 and extensive fundamental changes were implemented at universities at large.