Shiraz Hafezia Complex is one of the most important tourist attractions in Shiraz, which hosts many tourists from all over the world every year. Khajeh Shams-ud-Din Mohammad Shirazi, nicknamed “Hafiz”, is a great lyricist and one of the greats of Persian poetry and literature. He was born around 726 AH in Shiraz. He studied science and technology in the classroom of the professors of that time and found a high foundation in the literary sciences of his time. Hafiz, especially thought a lot in jurisprudential and divine sciences, and memorized the Qur’an with fourteen different narrations.
Goethe, the great German scientist, poet, and orator, compiled his Oriental Divan, which entitled Hafiz, and was inspired by his ideas. His poetry collection includes lyric poems, several poems, several Masnavi, pieces and quatrains. He died in 792 AH in Shiraz. His tomb in Shiraz Hafezia is a shrine for lovers of Persian poetry and literature.
History of Hafezia building
The first building built on the tomb of the Hafiz(Lesan_al_orafa) was built 65 years after his death by Shams al-Din Muhammad Yaghmaei. Hafezia was repaired and rebuilt several times during the Safavid rule and during the reign of Nader Shah Afshar. Parts of the Hafezia such as the Chaharston Hall were added during the Zandi period. During the Qajar and Pahlavi regimes, Hafezia was was repaired and rebuilt several times. During these years, buildings derived from traditional Iranian-Islamic architecture with materials such as metal, wood, marble, and soil were built over Hafez’s court and were repeatedly destroyed.
By coming to power of the first Pahlavi and the influx of European engineers, companies and architects to Iran, the traditional Islamic architecture of Iran was also influenced by Western modernism and the architecture of Iran’s historical monuments underwent a great change. In 1314 Hijri, a plan proposed by the ancient French Archaeologist and architect Andre Godard for the Shiraz Hafezia Complex was implemented under the personal supervision of Ali Sami and with the cooperation of Ali Asghar Hekmat and former head of the Persian Culture Department, Colonel Ali Riazi. In fact, the current building of Hafeziyeh was built in 1315 Hijri, in which Mr. Hekmat and Mr. Sami, along with Maxim Siro of France, played an active role.
Current architecture of Shiraz Hafezia
The current collection of Hafezia includes the northern and southern parts and the eastern and western sub-parts. The entrance to the complex is from the southern part and along a very beautiful orange grove, which is adorned on both sides by two large ponds left over from the Zandieh period. This orange grove ends in a tall porch and under it is Karim Khani reservoir. As mentioned, this porch was built during the Zandian dynasty with four pillars (Hall of Four Pillars) and sixteen other pillars were added to it during the Pahlavi period. It is now known as the Twenty Columns Hall. Passing through this porch, we reach the northern part of the complex, where the main tomb is located.
Hafiz’s tomb
When the area around Hafez’s tomb was built by order of Karim Khan Zand, his poems were carved on the marble floor for Khajeh’s tomb and a beautiful tomb was built. Some believe that Hafiz knew that one day his grave would be visited and that his lovers would come to see his tomb and compose a lyric with this theme:
You have to work hard to visit my grave because it is the shrine of the lovers of the world.
بر سر تربت ما چون گذری همت خواه که زیارتگه رندان جهان خواهد بود
This verse is also written in the lower parts of the grave:
Search for the spiritual life of the light of knowledge in the soil of tomb of Hafiz.
چراغ اهل معنی خواجه حافظ بجو تاریخش از خاک مصلی
Inside the tomb, the magic of tiles and the color, enchants your eyes. The seven-color tiles are located in the heart of the dome’s solar design, and in the meantime, this Distich catches your eyes:
The body is like a covering on the face of the soul. What a happy moment when there is no news of this covering.
حجاب چهره جان میشود غبار تنم خوشا دمی که از آن چهره پرده برفکنم
Cost and time table to visit Hafezia
Ticket price: 200,000 Rials
English and Farsi address of Hafezia
the border between Hafezieh crossroads and literature crossroads, Shiraz, Hafezia
شیراز، حد فاصل چهارراه حافظیه و چهارراه ادبیات، حافظیه
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