Central Iran - Iran - page 386

(Nasir-al-Molk Mosque; off Lotf Ali Khan Blvd; admission US$1.80; 8am-2pm &
3.30-7pm) Down the road from the Madraseh-ye Khan is one of the most elegant and pho-
tographed mosques in southern Iran. Built at the end of the 19th century, its coloured
tiling (an unusually deep shade of blue) is exquisite. There are some particularly fine
muqarnas in the smallish outer portal and in the northern iwan, but the stained glass,
carved pillars and polychrome faience of the winter prayer hall are the most eye-catching
features. 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). A
museum in the opposite prayer hall opens into the Gav Cha (Cow Well), in which cows
walked downhill to raise the water. The structure has survived numerous earthquakes, due
in part to its construction using flexible wood as struts within the walls - look for the
wooden bricks in the iwan columns.
Don't rely on the mosque's official opening hours. Basically, it's open whenever the
elderly caretakers are on-site. Mornings are best.

Naranjestan & Khan-e Zinat ol-Molkکلملا تنيز هناخ ناتسجنران غاب
HISTORIC BUILDING

A huge courtyard planted with rows of palm and orange trees, the
Bagh-e Naranjestan (Citrus Garden; Lotf Ali Khan Blvd; admission US$2.70;
8am-6.30pm) is the setting for the opulently decorated Naranjastan-e Qavam pavilion,
built for the wealthy and powerful Mohammad Ali Khan Qavam al-Molk between 1879
and 1886 as the buruni (public reception area) of his family home. The Khan-e Zinat ol-
Molk housed the family's andaruni (private quarters) and an underground passage (not
open to the public) connected the two.
The pavilion's mirrored entrance hall opens onto rooms with painted walls and ceilings.
The ceilings in the upstairs rooms are particularly interesting, with the beams painted with
European-style motifs, including Alpine churches and busty German fräuleins. The down-
stairs museum houses an archaeological collection put together by Arthur Upham Pope,
an American scholar who taught at the Asia Institute in Shiraz between 1969 and 1979.
Down a small street beside the garden is the Khan-e Zinat ol-Molk (Zinat-ol Molk
Museum; admission US$0.80; 8am-6pm), originally the Qavam ol-Molk family's gor-
geous andaruni . Twenty rooms are embellished with paintings, stucco decoration and mir-
rors, and the mosaic floors were designed to resemble ornate Persian rugs. In the base-
ment, the Fars Museum showcases wax figures of famous Shirazis. The museum is sign-
posted from Lotf Ali Khan Blvd.