Darvazeh-ye Quran

Lonely Planet review

At the northern and main entrance to Shiraz is a ravine known as the Allah Akbar Gorge because people would praise Allah when they looked from here down to Shiraz below. This is also home to the Darvazeh-ye Quran, a modern and not desperately impressive structure built in 1949 to replace two earlier gateways. The gateway holds a Quran and travellers have traditionally passed underneath it before undertaking any journey.

The fine original Quran, installed during the Zand period, was stolen from the Pars Museum in 2003.

Those with good leg muscles might want to climb up Mt Baba Kuhi in search of two more tombs and some bas-reliefs, from where the views of Shiraz are breathtaking. There are three teahouses here that are popular with young people hanging, especially at sunset.

To get here, take a shuttle taxi to Quran Sq or walk up from either the Aramgah-e Hafez or the Bagh-e Jahan Nama.