Beyond Inspirational
Beautiful city of Shiraz is a sight for the eye at any time of the year but I’d recommend spring time as Shiraz is home to infamous private and public gardens that one could only dream of their beauty and fragrance. Amongst our visits to some of these gardens were: Afif-abaad Garden, Eram Garden and the Qavam house which had the most profound effect on me!
One of the best life experiences was my visit to the Nasir-ol molk mosque. The multitude of stained glass windows turn the inside of the mosque into a riotous wonderland of color that is absolutely breathtaking.
You can only see the light through the stained glass in the early morning which was built to catch the morning sun. The sight of the morning sunlight shining through the colorful stained glass, then falling over the tightly woven Persian carpet, was so bewitching that it seems to be from another world (if you haven’t seen pictures yet, make sure to checkout our Instagram feed to take a visual glimpse at these descriptions).
On a funny note – that day ended by our last touristic destination at the Shah-Chiragh Mosque.
As we got to the mosque, we found two separate entrances for men and women (later I learned that mosques which are still active and have regular visitors to pray have a policy of separating women and men’s sections).
Well, that was still okay, until I was stopped at the entrance, and when I asked why? I was told I couldn’t get in because I wasn’t wearing a “Chador”(A long cloak used as a Hijab article by women to cover up). This instance was not only shocking yet very sad, to have woman without such particular Hijab requirement forbidden from visiting the beautiful touristic site. Being an Iranian and quite familiar with the rules and policies I still had a hard time digesting this so called requirement (so ladies, if you are visiting, don’t forget this policy).
Im not a quitter, so I didn’t give up on my exploration shenanigans. My travel partner and Ceēnie’s Co-Founder went inside from the men’s entrance and came back with many pictures and documents for Ceēnie. He mentioned that its hard to take pictures from inside and that if guards see you while your taking pictures, they will warn you about it. Once I saw the photos of inside the mosque I found Shah-Chiragh very beautiful. The decorative work in a mosaic of mirror glasses, is the inscriptions in stucco, the ornamentation, the doors covered with panels of silver, the portico, and the wide courtyard are very attractive and beyond inspirational.
