Architecture sights in Shiraz
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Masjed-e Vakil
The beautiful Masjed-e Vakil was begun by Karim Khan and is the only major mosque surviving from the late Zand period. Beside the entrance to the bazaar, it has two vast iwans to the north and south, a magnificent inner courtyard surrounded by beautifully tiled alcoves and porches, and a pleasingly proportioned 75m-by-36m vaulted prayer hall supported by 48 carved columns. Inside the prayer hall are an impressive mihrab and 14-step marble minbar, carved from a monolith carried all the way from Azerbaijan. Much of the tiling, with its predominantly floral motifs and arabesques, was added in the early Qajar era.
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Masjed-e Nasir-ol-Molk
Masjed-e Nasir-ol-Molk is one of the most elegant and photographed mosques in southern Iran. Built at the end of the 19th century, its coloured tiling (an unusually deep shade of blue) is exquisite. There is some particularly fine stalactite moulding in the smallish outer portal and in the northern iwan, but it is the stunning stained glass, exquisitely carved pillars and polychrome faience of the winter prayer hall that are most eye-catching. Photographers should come as early as possible in the morning for shots of the hall lit up through the glass (you might have to tip the caretaker to open the curtains).
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