Photo: Anisha Shah
Shiraz, city of love
Ah, Shiraz, the city of romance,
poetry, literature and wine.
One could easily spend a week
or a lifetime in Shiraz. I have
3 days and head straight to
Vakil Bazaar. The deeper one
ventures, the more rewarding
it becomes, revealing hidden
caravanserais, bath-houses and
hundreds of time-worn shops.
The bazaar is an intoxicating
maze. Buy Shiraz-specialty
hand-painted boxes, loose
incense and saffron and
cinnamon bark. The bazaar was
Karim Khan’s ambition to make
Shiraz a lasting trading centre.
Wide vaulted brick avenues
are highlight legacies of Zand
architecture. Marvel at multiple
entrances, considered portals
to a dream world of Persian
cliché; catch glimpses of copper
twinkle in the odd ray of light;
antique incense burners whose
heavy smoke encumbers the
air of this romantic fabled city. I
meet groups of girls convened
over hijab stalls, deciphering
fabrics and colours. Several
mosques skirt the periphery.
Shiraz is also known as the city
of flowers. Appropriately, a
group of schoolboys wander
over to give me a beautiful
flower in the Unesco world
heritage Eram Gardens. Given
as a gesture of welcome and
respect, it embodies everything
I come to learn of Iranians. Eram
Gardens or ‘Bagh e-Eram’ is
thought to have been built by
an Arab King who wanted to
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compete with paradise. ‘Eram’
is Arabic for heaven. Verdant
grounds, scented flowers and
vivid colours such as a carpet
of Persian buttercup, ensure
aesthetic pleasures all around.
Find the 3,000-year-old Cypress
tree, ‘sarv-e nāz’. Whilst visiting
again on my second day, I meet
secondary schoolgirls painting
scenes of nature and primary
schoolgirls on a visit wrapped
in pretty pink hijabs and the
sweetest chorus of wide smiles.
Ancient empire,
Persepolis
Name one single famous reason
to visit Iran and Persepolis will
be the answer. The most famous
archaeological site of Iran and
the world is an hour’s drive from
Shiraz. ‘Takht e-Jamshid,’ as
locals know it ((is 650 kilometres
south of capital Tehran.)) was
once the richest city on Earth,
the largest empire in the world
and treasure trove capital of the
Achaemenid Empire, founded
by Darius 1 in 518BC. The focal
Apadana royal palace was
once laden with gold, silver,
ivory and gemstones, and is
surrounded by the Treasury,
royal tombs and Council Hall. It’s
from here that Xerxes planned
war against Greece. Alexander
the Great invaded Persepolis in
330 BCE, causing a damaging
fire. But, today’s ruins remain
breathtakingly impressive on
a global scale, so much so that
Unesco designated this a world
heritage site in 1979. Get bird’s
eye views over the vast site from
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