Gardens
During all its periods of glory and prosperity, Shiraz was renowned for its large and pleasant gardens. No traveler, even to this Day, can forget the emerald green gardens of Shiraz and their cool and shady Boneh-Gah ( an area in a garden where a mass of trees form a dome-like structure). At the bottom of the most of these gardens in a circular area, where the multitude of thick, bushy maple and plane trees join their heads together to provide a cool, shady spot for resting. The Boneh-Gah is, in fact, a garden within a garden.

Since a visit to Shiraz would be incomplete without a look at the gardens, which present all the art and skill of landscape planning, some famous examples are listed below. You can easily locate all these places on a tourist map of Shiraz:

Bagh-e Eram (the Garden of Paradise): This is a large garden to the west of the city. It dates from the time of Qajars, when Mohammad Gholi Khan Illkhani ordered its construction; Mohammad Hassan, the noted architect, built the handsome two-story structure in it. In the center of the building is a gallery overlooking the garden and all around are various rooms, with orris and alcove and a beautiful hall of mirrors.
Facing the gallery is the main walk of the garden with small ponds bordered on both sides by fine cypress trees. The most beautiful of all the trees in this garden and the most famous tree of Shiraz is a lofty cypress named Sarv-e Naaz (the sweet cypress), which indeed, seems a work of art.



 

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	The Khalili Garden: This is a spacious garden overflowing with flowers. Geraniums, sweetbriers, bougainvillea, yellow roses, blue water lilies and ornamental trees cover a large area of the garden. Lofty plane trees line both sides of the main walk, and thick, bushy maples from a round and cool Boneh-Gah in the north-eastern corner. Through the graciousness of the owner, a tour of the garden has become possible for all.

	Bagh-e Delgosha (the Garden of Hearts-ease): To the northeast of Shiraz, near the mausoleum of Sadi, is the large and pleasant Delgosha Garden. Flower-beds decorate Delgosha Garden. Flowerbeds decorate the center of the wide main walk of the garden and a mass of orange trees borders the two sides. The walk leads to a residential home, standing in the center of the garden dating from the Zand and Qajar eras. The building has a verandah supported by two monolithic pillars. Its facade is covered with glazed tiles and plaster moldings, its doors are fine examples of inlay work and mirrorwork, and there are some lovely paintings on wood with flower, shrub and bird designs. Old Houses

	Takieh Haft Tanan (Resting Place of the Seven): At the foot of the mountain, to the north of the mausoleum of Hafez, stands a pavilion dating from the period of Karim Khan Zand. Under the ancient cypress and pine trees in the pleasant garden surrounding the pavilion, lie buried seven learned men thus explaining the origin of the name Resting Place of the Seven. The pavilion, in the form of a large hall, has two monolithic columns and two rooms on either side. The walls of the hall are decorated with fine pictures of flowers, shrubs and birds; and below the ceiling are paintings of Rostam, Ashkabus and a lion in the process of devouring a deer. The tomb of Shah Shoja, the 13th century patron of Hafez is to be seen to the west of the building.

	Golshan Garden Being transformed into a military museum by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army in 1988, the Golshan Garden (also called Afif Abad) was founded in the south of Shiraz upon orders by Mirza Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam in 1863. It houses a beautiful two-story edifice following a combination of Achaemenian and Qajar architecture. It was used as the ex-kings residence whenever he traveled to Shiraz.

	Golshan Garden:Being transformed into a military museum by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army in 1988, the Golshan Garden (also called Afif Abad) was founded in the south of Shiraz upon orders by Mirza Ali Mohammad Khan Qavam in 1863. It houses a beautiful two-story edifice following a combination of Achaemenian and Qajar architecture. It was used as the ex-kings residence whenever he traveled to Shiraz.