- What's this weird groove? - Jumpin'Jack
- spring blossoms.... apple?
- that's water... more info below in comments!
Day 5 - Arriving in Shirāz: The Qur'ān Gate
To see Iran photos in order, please view Iran set!
After proceeding across the beautifully changing landscape -- from the stunning deserts of Yazd to the irrigated lushness of Pars -- we came just before nightfall to Shirāz, a jewel of a city about which poets have been singing for millennia. (The long ā is pronounced like "ahh," drawn out lovingly... so the āz in Shirāz is not quite Oz as in Wizard of Oz, but almost... Shirahhhhz... the same with the ā in Qur'ān and Irān, for that matter... such a beautiful language!)
After curving along the Kor River for many miles, the road wound up into the hills we had seen around us all afternoon. We came to the Allahu Akbar pass, a steep but apparently natural cut in the mountains, wherein stands the beautiful Qur'ān Gate.
The gate is so named because it once housed very special copies of the holy book (now in the city's museum), and travellers arriving or departing through the gate were said to receive a blessing from passing under these tomes.
The pass is so named because it is said that any traveller who arrived at the pass would, on glimpsing the city below, be so stunned at its beauty that s/he would inevitably cry out, "God is great!" ("Allahu Akbar!")
Indeed, the view of the city was lovely, though my pictures do not capture it (light posts etc. are in the way!). We dallied around at this gate until the evening sun bathed the city in saffron then vermilion hues, and then it was positively breathtaking. So too was the knowledge of the romantic past, the centuries of travelers who had passed that way...
It is a popular spot for a popular Iranian activity... hanging out. ("Work hard, play hard" could be this country's motto!) In this photo you can see all the people sitting around near the gate below. This is why we spent so much time here... at every stop on our trip, people wanted to speak with us and we wanted to talk with them, so our poor guide had a terrible time trying to drag us away from any spot where Iranians were congregated...
To see how this gate looked before it was "restored," when the main road into the city actually passed under it instead of past it, check out this photo, as well as these others of the gate and views of the city on the Shiraz Municipality Website.
Comments and faves
monika & manfred (51 months ago | reply)
Your information texts are really interesting, dear birdfarm! Thanks for sharing so much wisdom and knowledge here on flickr...
birdfarm (51 months ago | reply)
You're so welcome! I love to pass on what I've learned... I was worried I had written too much here, so thank you for the positive feedback. :) :) :)
birdfarm (51 months ago | reply)
JumpinJack, that's water :) Like much of Central Asia, Iran has centuries-old water systems that bring water from the mountains to the plains. Water channels are everywhere above-ground (as in this photo) and underground as well (see this photo and accompanying info). Water channels run along every major street in the cities.
It is not only practical (and an amazing feat of engineering given the age of these systems! Some as old as 600-700 years!) but beautiful, soothing and pleasant to be constantly surrounded by running water.
herspiral (50 months ago | reply)
So cool! Thanks for all the info!
birdfarm (50 months ago | reply)
yvw :) :) thanks for your visit H :) :)
The Akermarks (49 months ago | reply)
This gate is an important place in the Bahai Faith.
birdfarm (49 months ago | reply)
really, Akermarks? can you provide more information? that's so interesting!
The Akermarks (49 months ago | reply)
Yes, the gate to Shiraz is in a way the gate to the foundation of the Bahá'í Faith (May 22 in 1844). But I'm not sure now, whether it is THIS gate (are there more than one main gates?), as on the slideshow which gives information about what happened at the gate, it looks different. It might just be renewed. This slideshow gives information: www.nybahai.org/declaration/
Y.Ali (48 months ago | reply)
Nice
birdfarm (48 months ago | reply)
Thank you so much for the info, The Akermarks, and for stopping by and commenting, Y. Ali! The Akermarks, I think this is the one main gate, tho I am not sure.