Shiraz, Iran

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Image:Eram garden.JPGImage:Maghbareh hafez.jpg Shirāz (شیراز in Persian) is a city in southwest Iran (Persia).

Its elevation is 1486 metres above sea level amidst the Zagros Mountains, and it is the capital of Fars Province. The city had an estimated population of 1,255,955 in 2005.[1]

Shiraz was the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1750 until 1794, after which the Qajar dynasty moved the capital to Tehran, as well as briefly during the Saffarid period.[2]

It is known as the city of Poetry, Wine, Roses and Nightingles. It has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than a thousand years.

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Geography

Image:Shiraz.png Shirāz is located in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in about 29° N, 52° E and eleveation of about 1600 meters (5200 ft). In relation to its neighboring provinces, Yazd and Khouzestan, Shirāz has a more moderate climate, with warm/hot summers and mild winters. The city's economic base is in its provincial products: it produces grapes, citrus fruits, cotton and rice. In Shirāz itself, industries such as cement production, sugar, fertilizer, textile products, wood products, metalwork and rugs dominate. Shirāz is also a major center for Iran's electronic industries and has a major oil refinery as well. Shirāz is famous for its carpet production and flowers as well. It is also believed that the name of the Shiraz grape originates from here as well.

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Attractions of Shiraz

Major popular attrcations in Shirāz include:

Shirāz was once capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty.

Shiraz was once world famous for its many gardens and aromatic flowers. The Ghavam House Garden is one of few remaining gardens still to be found today.

Shirazi Qajar era architecture: The arcade of Nasir al-Molk mosque.

Shiraz University Central Library overlooks the city of Shiraz.

Nearby Shiraz are located:

and more than 200 other sites of historical significance, according to Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization.

Prior to the 1979 revolution, Shiraz had also been cultivated as a gay tourism destination. The city's once prominent local gay scene has been banned and utterly suppressed by the Islamic Republic.

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History of Shiraz

Shiraz is most likely more than 2500 years old. The earliest reference to the city date back to approximately 550 B.C. The ancient Elamite name for this city was written Tiraziš. This was according to Elamite clay tablets found in Persepolis. Phonetically, this is interpreted as /tiračis/ or /ćiračis/. This name became Old Persian /širājiš/; through regular sound change comes the modern Persian name Shirāz. The name Shiraz also appears on clay sealings found at Qasr-i Abu Nasr, a Sassanid ruin, east of the city, (2nd century A.D.) .


The Zand Citadel is another remnant of the Zand era in downtown Shiraz.

Scene from the bustling "Zand Blvd" in downtown Shiraz.

The afif-abad museum is yet another example of late Qajarid era architecture in Shiraz, and a fine example of Persian gardens.

Qajarid era architecture of Shiraz.

Fars province is home to three capitals in Persian history. The ruins of Persepolis, about 2500 years old, are found about 60 km northeast of Shiraz, as a witness to the ancient glory of the Achaemenid empire. Persepolis, Firouzabad, and Pasargadae are nearby ancient cynosures of this ancient civilization.

We know of Shiraz during the Sassanid era, (2nd to 6th century A.D.) as has been written in p126 of Hudud ul-'alam min al-mashriq ila al-maghrib, where two fire temples and a fortress called "Shahmobad" are reported. Hamdollah Mostowfi also verifies the existence of pre-Islamic settlements in Shiraz in his Nozhat ol-Qolub, p112. Shirāz as a city however began to grow in the 7th century when the power of the former regional capital Istakhr was broken by the Arabs. The major events during and after the Islamic conquest of Iran are:

  • 640-653: Fars falls to the armies of Umar. Shiraz in 641. Estakhr in 653.
  • 1387: Shirāz is occupied for a short period by Timur.
  • 1393: Timur occupies Shirāz for the second time.
  • 1630: A flood destroys large parts of the town.
  • 1668: Another flood hits Shirāz.
  • 1724: Shirāz is sacked by Afghan invaders.
  • 1750: Shirāz becomes capital of the Zand dynasty. Many of the famous buildings are restored or rebuilt from this period.
  • 1794: End of the Zand dynasty, and Shirāz' status as capital.
  • 1824: An earthquake destroys parts of the town.
  • 1853: A heavy earthquake hits Shirāz, but many important buildings are spared.
  • 1945: Shirāz University opens.

During the Pahlavi era, The Shāh spent large sums of money on Shirāz to revive the grandeur of Achaemenid Persia. The 2500th anniversary of the Persian empire and the large flow of investments in Pahlavi University were notable projects among others drawn up for this purpose, rendering Shiraz a prominent status among Iranian cities by the late 1970s.

After the revolution, Shirāz fell out of favor by the ruling Islamic establishment in Tehran. To the new Islamic Republic, Shirāz was a sign of ("taaghoot") decadence from the former Pahlavi regime. It did not help that the city's claims to fame was intertwined with wine making (hence the Shiraz grape used in wineries), as well as being a center of art and culture. Poetry is a pillar of the Persian culture and Shiraz has had a major role in this regard. Two of the most visited sites in Shiraz are the tombs of Sa'di and Hafez, both Post-Islam era poets which have captured the minds of the Iranians for centuries, as a direct competition to religion. Image:Frye Shiraz.jpg Shiraz was elected to be the center for the annual Iran Arts Festival during the late 1960s. The free expressions displayed during this festival were sometimes contrary to Islamic norms and infurated the islamic establishment. This Shiraz Arts Festival became one of the major contributing factors to the Islamic uprising in Iran in the late 1970s. The city continues to cultivate artists and poets despite active and passive efforts against the arts.

After the revolution, incompetent authorities were often assigned to mayor or governor positions by the Islamic government. This was a reflection of the distaste of the Islamic establishment for the city so historically detached from Islam. The result has been a siginificant destruction of the city structure, amidst a chaotic growth. It has led to an unpleasant urban sprawl. Shirāz University, once a world class institution, has been neglected and ignored almost entirely. Its Medical Center and Medical School were built and initially almost entirely staffed by the oldest and most prestigeous US medical schools Harvard, Yale and University of Pennsylvania. In the 1960s and the 1970s, the Pahlavi University medical School was among the top medical centers of the Middle East. Today, after 30 years, the never finished skeletal structure of buildings started in the Shah's era still stand, with the steel I-beams rusting away, not unsimilar to the columns of Persepolis and Pasargadae. Most of the medical school graduates from this era have immigrated out of the country and many are distinguished professors at major medical schools in the US and Europe.

Some native Shirazis believe that "instead of Shiraz, cities like Isfahan, the symbol of a successful Islamic culture, have flourished. They now represent the image Iranian authorities wish to present: Iran as an Islamic State."

Shiraz has also been a major military center, back from the Shah days. Its strategic location in the mountains is both protective and close to borders. The Persian Gulf, southern (arabia) and western (Iraq) borders and the oil fields are all within a few hundred miles. A major Air Force base is within the city limits, and the city's location has historically proven a difficult reach, thus protecting Shiraz from many invading armies. This has helped to spare some of the city's and surrounding areas' ancient sturctures. In recent history, the area proved a challenge for the British in the early 1900s and to the Allies during WWII. Another challenge has been the nomadic tribes such as the indigenous Qashqai living in the mountains surrounding Shiraz. They have always been firecely independent and have posed significant military challenges to anyone threatening their independence. The Pahlavi regime and the current Islamic Republic have had their share of troubles with them. These tribes mostly of Turkic origin continue until today a ritual migration twice a year. They spend the winter months in the foothills of the Zagros mountains closer to the Persian Gulf and move their entire villages with tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of livestock up the mountaines to the milder plateau for the summer months.

Agriculture has always been a major part of the economy in and around Shiraz. This is partially due to a relative abundance of water compared to the surrounding deserts. The Gardens of Shiraz and "Evenings of Shiraz" are famous throughout Iran and the middle east. The moderate climate and the beauty of the city had made it a major tourist attraction prior to the revolution. By the late 1970s Shiraz was a favorite summer home for the wealthy Arab neighbors. This along with toursim in general came to a halt after the islamic revolution of 1979, and have never recovered.

Geography also has limited the growth of the city. Pollution, congestion, and traffic jams have taken significant tolls on the economic development and are the challenges yet to be met by the government. The city simply lacks the resources for harboring a super-sized city population.

Another interesting historical point is that Shiraz is the City where Bahai religion was founded. A significant Bahai population still resides in the city, even despite the tense atmosphere today. Shiraz also traditionally had a large Jewish population. Meulana Shahin Shirazi weas from this tradition.

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Shiraz in poetry

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Baba Taher

شوم یک سر برونم تا به شیراز
که در هر منزلم صد آشنایی

"Straight to Shiraz I will flee,
a hundred friends I'll find at every stop."

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Hafez, "The Nightingale of Shiraz"


خوشا شیراز و وضع بی مثالش
خداوندا نگهدار از زوالش

"Pleasant is Shiraz and its incomparable state.
Oh lord, preserve it from decline!"

شیراز و آب رکنی و این باد خوش نسیم
عیبش مکن که خال رخ هفت کشور است

"Shiraz and the water of Roknabad, and this pleasant breeze,
Fault it not! For it is the beauty of seven nations."


The mausoleum of Hafez attracts millions of visitors yearly. Not far, is the tomb of Shah Shoja, his patron.

The tomb and mausoleum of the famous mystic poet Sa'di.

Above the Quaran gate, buried in the rocks is Khwaju Kermani, another mystic poet of Shiraz.

The tomb of the 9th century sage Ibn Khafif is today a public library and gathering place for youngsters.

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Research and Education

During the Shāh's era, Shirāz had an excellent academic community. Shiraz University (former Pahlavi University) was an English-speaking University that had very close ties to the University of Pennsylvania during the 1960s and 70s.

The major universities in or nearby Shirāz today are:

Image:Shiraz airport2.jpg

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Transportation

Shiraz is accessible via freeways to Isfahan, roadways to Bushehr, and air.

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Airports

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Notable people

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References

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External links

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