Oct 11 - Go across into the eastern part of old town. First destination of the day is the Nasir al-Mulk Mosque, also known as the ‘Pink Mosque’. It was built during the Qajar Dynasty and is a good example of that dynasty’s artistic style. It was built on land acquired for this purpose by Mirza Hassan Ali Nasir al-Mulk, a powerful aristocrat of Shiraz. The architect was Muhammad Hasan-e-Memar, who also designed the building at Eram Garden we saw on Day 189.
What makes this mosque so interesting is the use of red and pink colors in the tiling. Normally, mosques focus on the colors white and green, so it is unusual to see such strong colors other than that.
The southern evan (arch) of the mosque, oriented toward Mecca. Normally the prayer hall would be behind this arch, but in this case, the prayer hall is on the west side of the courtyard.
The layout of the mosque is unusual as well. Nasir al-Mulk purchased whatever land he could to build it, but the specific footprint he ended up with did not allow for a classic mosque shape.
Entrance to the prayer hall. This area is extraordinary for its intensity of colors. Persian stained glass (orsi) was used to illuminate it. One normally thinks of this as being a feature of Christian churches, and I cannot think of another case where I’ve seen it used in a mosque.
Detail of the interior. The columns were hand carved from single blocks of limestone.
Some worshipers relaxing and chatting. This is an interesting feature of mosques in general, that they double as places where people can just hang out.
Odette, mesmerized by the colors.
Detail of the artwork. Flowers, especially roses, figure strongly into the Qajar Dynasty style. The color was made by heating gold and causing it to oxidize.
One of the domes within the prayer area.
Inside the northern evan. The cascading, geometric forms at the top are exceedingly difficult to design due to the number of angles involved.
In the exposed brickwork, some normal bricks were substituted by wooden bricks. This was done to provide flexibility during earthquakes. Shiraz, and the Zagros Range in general, experiences a high frequency of quakes.
Walk a few blocks to the Naranjastan Museum, operated by Shiraz University (also called the Qavam House). Built in 1879-86, it acted as a meeting house for the VIPs of the time. It was given over to the nearby University of Shiraz in 1966. It was, like several other structures we’ve seen, designed by Muhammad Hasan-e-Memar, and shows characteristic Qajar style.
The central gardens feature many sour orange trees, one of the traditional fruit trees of Shiraz. Note that the front of the building in the background is very similar to the house at Eram Gardens.
Stone lattice work on the lower part of the residence building. All of this was carved by hand from a single piece of limestone.
A wooden door inlayed with mother-of-pearl and bronze. The flower and bird motif is probably the most diagnostic feature of Shiraz style.
One of the upper rooms of the residence (reserved for women only) had a ceiling decorated with painted wooden beams. The portraits shown are cut out of old European postcards and glued on to the wood.
From here it is a few blocks to one of the many entrances to the bazaar. The one in Shiraz is extensive, composed of many parts built in different time periods.
The contents of the bazaar run the full gamut of household items, clothing, dry goods, and what have you. Very much geared toward normal commerce, with a few small areas obviously geared toward the tourist market. And when I say ‘tourist market’ I mean Iranian tourists.
One of the clothing areas.
A spice seller. It’s a pity I can’t make this a scratch-and-sniff jpeg. But if you’ve ever been in a spice market, I’m sure it will trigger olfactory memories.
This treat is called falooleh. It is thin frozen noodles with a sort of ice cream coating and covered in lemon juice. A traditional desert of Shiraz.
One of the many caravanserais of Shiraz bazaar. The word caravanserai means ‘place where groups can gather’. Basically, an open space where groups of travelers and their pack animals would be able to park and rest, and perhaps unload goods for sale in the bazaar. Since that era is gone, they have been converted to gardens, fountains, and cafes.
Some typical super intricate Shiraz artwork on porcelain ware.
On to the walls and towers we walked around our first night here (Day 188), called the Arg-e-Karim Khan (Fortress of Karim Khan, r. 1751-79). He was the founder of the Zand Dynasty and made Shiraz his capital in AH 1180. He sponsored many grand public works in the middle of town, and this fortress is one of the only to survive. Sadly, even this was used and abused terribly in the years since, notably used as a prison during the Pahlavi Dynasty (1925-79). For pictures of the exterior, refer to Day 188.
The interior spaces of the Arg-e Karim Khan were plastered over during its use as a prison, and it took much painstaking work to remove it and expose the underlying artwork. Not much is left today.
One room shows a scene of the king, seated in the back, receiving a French diplomat. The king and his administrators are shown in typical Zand Dynasty attire.
The most interesting part of the fortress was the hammam. Here is shown the bathing room. The artwork on the walls was made by plastering lime, then cutting out shapes from it and painting. The lime was the only material that could withstand the constant humidity.
One of the benches in the changing room.
This woman came here to sing, probably seeking out the acoustic quality provided in the hammam changing room. Near the end of her song, however, an employee came in and told her to stop, since singing is forbidden in historic spaces that have any connection to Islam. This turned into a real argument that lasted for about ten minutes, before the woman and her friends left. Just a glimpse of what Iran is going through right now, in terms of freedom of expression.
Nearby to the fortress is one of the other surviving Zand Dynasty structures ordered by Karim Khan, the Vakil Mosque. It has the more classic mosque shape, with the prayer hall behind the south evan (arch).
The north evan of Vakil Mosque.
Close up with Janet for scale.
The prayer hall. Only the central part, leading to the mihrab, has a tiled ceiling. Note how different the Zand artistic style is from that of the Qajar Dynasty.
This staircase to the minbar was carved from a single piece of marble. Marble is not available in Iran, so this block had to be brought from Azerbaijan.
One last stop today, at the Khan Madresa (religious school). This was originally constructed in the 1600’s. It was greatly damaged by earthquakes, and much of the tilework was replaced in Qajar times.
Entrance to the courtyard of the madresa. The courtyard features a quiet garden, to give a place for students to rest and study. Originally, the perimeter outside the building was also a garden to serve the same purpose. However, urban growth has eliminated all of that.
While much of this art is typical Shiraz Qajar work, the central lattice is one of the rare parts surviving from Safavid times.
Touring done for today, we retire to the hotel. Our timing allows Odette the rare opportunity to use a swimming pool. The hotel has one in the basement. Fortunately, today the pool hours for women is from 15:00-21:00, so Janet can take her down there. Men and women are not allowed to be at the pool at the same time.
Like so many things here, the pool was nicely decorated.
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