After our first day we were fairly comfortable with Iran, its safe streets and friendly people. This day we decided to visit the outer Shiraz sights, which were mainly two tombs and the surrounding gardens. As per the previous day, because of the Persian New Year holidays, all sights were extremely overcrowded.
Tomb of Hafez
Hafez is a famous Persian poet, whose poems are known by heart by all Persians. Hafez’s hometown Shiraz, which he rarely left, was a predominant influence in his poetry. In Shiraz is the Hafez mausoleum which consists of his tomb and memorial hall, all surrounded by lush orange trees and ponds.
One of the interesting things is the sale of verses of Hafez’s poetry which are selected randomly by a canary or budgie; the bird will use its beak to select a single piece of paper from a box of many.
Delgosha Garden
Situated between Hafez’s Tomb and Saadi’s Tomb is Delgosha Garden, one of Iran’s oldest gardens. To the east of the garden is a small mountain which we climbed provides sweeping views of Shiraz.
Tomb of Saadi
Similar to Hafez, Saadi was a famous Persian poet, born in Shiraz, Iran. Whilst Hafez rarely left Shiraz, Saadi spent the majority of his life travelling surrounding countries, after which his learnings were reflected in his poems. The Saadi mausoleum contains vast gardens surrounding the tomb.
