Historical city
Of Shiraz

Tombs of
Hafez and Saadi

Other
Monuments

Shiraz is closely linked to the great poets Hafez and Saadi, and the tombs of these poets are located today on the north bank of the Khoshk River. To most Iranians these are the most important monuments in Shiraz.

Hafez' tomb is the closest to the town centre. Built in 1953 in a garden, the mausoleum is a small open pavilion; inside which is a marble tombstone with several of the poets' verses. One of the nicest tea-houses (chaikhaneh) in Shiraz can be found in the grounds, set around a rectangular pool. You can sit around on cushions sip a cup of tea, or rose water while reflecting on his poetry. Hafez spent most of his life in his native town and died there in 1389. He is considered the undisputed master of the ghazal¹, and his poems reflect a richness and a subtlety unequalled even by the other great talent, Saadi.

Hafez's Tomb by night, Shiraz
( Photo by Mansour-e Sane )

Saadi's tomb is in the north-east of Shiraz. Set in a pleasant garden, the present tomb was built in 1952 and replaces an earlier much simpler construction. Unlike Hafez, Saadi travelled extensively in Iraq and Syeria, where he was even taken prisoner by the Crusaders. Upon His return to Shiraz, Saadi wrote his most famous works, the Bustan (The Orchard) and the Golestan (The Rose Garden), which are moral tales written either in verse or in a mixture of prose and verse. Saadi is said to have died in 1290 at the grand old age of 101.

Saadi's Tomb, Shiraz
( Photo by Mansour-e Sane )