The tomb of Hafez is a beloved place among Shiraz attractions for Persian and non-Persian tourists who visit Iran. Most of the tourists who want to visit Iran, already know about the tomb of Hafez as one of the Shiraz attractions.
Most German tourists know a lot about Hafez as a Persian poet in Shiraz from their countryman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) who was a German poet and dedicated one part of his book to Hafez.
His odes are known for his lyrics praising wine, mistress or lover, and song style. His poems have been translated into several active languages.
He has had a wide effect on people around the world such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Nietzsche, Queen Victoria, Johannes Brahms, Daniel Ladinsky, Garcia Lorca, Ralf Waldo Emerson, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and so many others.
Nietzsche wrote a poem about Hafez with the title “A Hafis. Frage eines Wassertrinkers” which means “To Hafez: Questions from a Water Drinker” in English.
Ralf Waldo Emerson said “Hafez is a poet for poets”, He is fearless. He sees too far, he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be.” Hafez is one of the Persian poets in Shiraz. Also, there is another globalized poet in Shiraz as Saadi (Sa-di سعدی), too.
Biography of Hafez, The Persian poet in Shiraz
Khaaje Shams-ud-din Mohammad Hafez-e Shirazi (خواجه شمس الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی) (1320-1389) was born on a religious family in Shiraz.
He memorized the whole of the Quran during his childhood called Hafez (in Persian means that who kept something in his/her mind). He lived with his mother after his father passed away in his childhood.
There is also a story about his wife Shakhe Nabat (sha-khe-na-baat شاخ نبات) whose name is repeated a lot in Hafez’s poems and also, he mentioned in his poem that his son died. Most of his famous type of poem is Ode which made his book full of Ode as “Hafez Diwan” (Di-vaan-e Ha-fez دیوان حافظ).
Hafez a Persian poet in Shiraz used a lot of metaphors to express his words in his poems. For example, you will find the “wine” word in the Persian language in his poems a lot.
Mysteries of Hafez’s poem
Every Iranian person believes that Hafez’s poem talks to them about their intention.
Iran tourism suggests following the below steps to talk with the Persian poet in Shiraz through his poem inside the Tomb of Hafez:
The first step is praying for Hafez concentrate on your subject or worry in your mind and ask your remedy from Hafez.
The second step is to open the Hafez Diwan unintentionally and then read the poem which is on the right page. Indeed, you will need Persian people to help you to read poetry and also it is feasible to use the English version of Hafez Diwan.
The third step is analyzing the poem and finding its meaning and also the main message of the poem for you, usually, publishers or professional writers add this extra option to have the correct meaning of the poem which is subtitled in each poem. The fourth step is linking your prior subject to the Hafez guide.
Usually, you will receive positive words in the poem and it shows that your answer to your question of Hafez is positive and also it is the same for negative words in the poem. The poems of Persian poets in Shiraz are sustained by the Persians to be mystical and coded!
Tomb of Hafiz’s Construction
Tomb of Hafez’s Construction
The tomb of Hafez is one of the main destinations among Shiraz attractions. In 1899, the tomb constructed by a Zoroastrian sponsor with wood and iron but the famous Islamic priest Seyed Ali Akbar Fal Asiri (سید علی اکبر فال اسیری) who was lived in Shiraz city ordered to destroy that building.
After that, some people were upset about that event and the government decided to rebuild the Tomb of Hafez’s area again by Mozaffar ad-Din Shah (Mo-za-fa-re-din shah مظفرالدین شاه) order.
In 1931, Farajollah Bahrami (فرج اله بهرامی) a great secretary in the Pahlavi era extended around the tomb by making walls and adding a garden to the tomb area, and in 1936, Ali Asghar Hekmat (علی اصغر حکمت) as culture minister completed repairing and new part buildings which started by Bahrami.
This current tomb of Hafez was made in the Pahlavi era by Reza Shah (رضا شاه) order. He ordered André Godard (1881-1965) in 1937 to design a new shape for the Tomb of Hafez.
André Godard is a Parisian archaeologist who designed the National Iranian Library and the University of Tehran, too. He stayed in Iran for 32 years and had a lot of successful projects in Iran such as the National Iranian Library, the setting of up Iranian Archaeology Museum, national Iranian museum, design Ferdowsi (Fer-do-si فردوسی) tomb, and other research and discoveries about Iran.
The first design of the tomb was 65 years after Hafez died. The tomb of Hafez was repaired in Safavid, Afsharid, and Zandiyeh era and it shows that the Persian poet in Shiraz and the tomb of Hafez are very honorable to the Iranian people in different dynasties.
The outside form of the dome in the Tomb of Hafez is like a Persian dervish (Darvish درویش) hat (Dervish is a member of a Muslim -specifically Sufi).
The tomb of Hafez has 8 columns which are holding its dome and each column is a symbol of heaven’s door because according to Islamic stories, heaven has eight doors. Moreover, eight columns also represent the date on which Hafez lived and it is around 8th Anno Hegirae.
On the tomb of Hafez covered by marble stone which originally came from Yazd City and over the stone, some poem of Hafez was carved by Agha Si Beyg Afshar (A-ghaa-si beyg af-shar آقاسی بیگ افشار) during Afsharid dynasty. The foundation of the Tomb of Hafez especially the dome belonging to the Mozaffarids (Mo-za-fa-ri-ds مظفریان) dynasty.
The inside of the dome is designed with various mystical colors such as blue as paradise, purple red as wine color, black and white as night symbols, and day and brown as soil symbols.
The south tomb of Hafez was built with a beautiful garden and a Narenjestan (naa-ren-jes-taan نارنجستان) (garden of oranges) and two basins which make this Shiraz attraction more magnificent.
The Garden is divided into two north and south part and there is a Hall between the two mentioned gardens.
The Hall is upper than two gardens with 18 stairs from the north side and 5 stairs on the south side and also Hall has 20 columns on two sides of the hall. There are also two rooms in the east and west of the Hall which are used as offices now.
Moreover, the tiles of the Tomb of Hafez refer to the art of Khatam (khaa-Tam خاتم) which is the proper application for Persian poets in Shiraz.
We prepare this information as part of the Iran Travel Guide Center for foreign tourists who would like to visit the Tomb of Hafez in Shiraz.
Accessibility to the Hafez Tomb
If you decide to come to the Tomb of Hafez one of the Shiraz attractions from Tehran city, you should come through Mehrabad Airport to Shiraz or take a bus from the South terminal of Tehran to Shiraz but traveling by bus is a long way and it is not recommended for tourist. The price for a flight ticket price is about 7,000,000 Rial per person for a return ticket.
The bus ticket price is about 800,000 Rials per person. The distance between Tehran and most Shiraz attractions in Shiraz City is about 935 km. Furthermore, it is feasible to come to Shiraz through Shiraz International Airport directly from abroad.
The other option could be using the train from Tehran to Shiraz, it would be better than the bus because it has beds and W.C. even physicians for train passengers. The train ticket price is about 1,000,000 Rial per person.
The first option is taking a walk from Darvaze Qoran (dar-vaa-ze Ghor-aan دروازه قرآن) (one of the Shiraz attractions) to Tomb of Hafez via Hafez St to the south then after about 13 min turns east to Azadi Blv. So, you will reach to destination in 5 min.
The second option is to go straight from Azadi (A-zaa-di آزادی) square with the local name Gas Square (Fa-la-ke Gazu – فلکه گاز) about 8 min by taxi or Snapp and 35 min by walking.
The third option is to go straight from Ghaem (gha-em قائم) square to the tomb of Hafez about 10 min of walk.
The final option is using the metro station, the nearest metro station around the tomb of Hafez is Zandiye (zan-di-ye زندیه) station which is a 2.6 km distance from the tomb of Hafez. The metro ticket price is about 10,000 Rial for one way.
Opening days and hours: All days between 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
The entrance Ticket price: is 200,000 RLS for each visitor and usually the price is different for foreign tourists at each Shiraz attraction.
Summary
The best time to visit Iran especially Shiraz attractions are spring (from April to May) because in March and April, you will find a lot of Iranian tourist from other cities and it will be very crowded.
We also strongly recommend that visit the Tomb of Hafez at night due to the beautiful lighting design around the tomb also the Tomb of Hafez does not belong to a particular group of people or specific religion. So, the Tomb of Hafez is a popular destination among Shiraz attractions for most people around the world.
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