Shiraz as the Poetic Heart of Persia

Shiraz is known as the lyrical centre of Persia, for the reason that two of the greatest poets of the world, Hafez (1324-1391) and Sa'di (1209-1291), come from this town. Sa'di, the tourist, was born in Baghdad and saw a huge part of the earth before he at last settled in Shiraz, where he died. Hafez on the other hand, was born in Shiraz and, apart from for one very short voyage, never even left his town.
Thus it's rational we begin with our stay in Shiraz with a call to their grave. At the grave of Sa'di it is awkwardly quiet, the door is open but there's not a soul there. We find out why when we arrive at the grave of Hafez. Today, it happens to be Hafez Memorial Day and every Iranian who loves verse has come here to honour the great poet while reading, reciting or listening to a number of of his poems. For us, this is a very weird practice. We can't dream so many young individuals would come to a Vandal Day in Holland. Iranians must really feel affection for their poetry. Our Iranian conduct Sherwin surprises us; he recites a gorgeous sonnet of Sa'di, by heart.
As soon as it's nearly dark, we go to the Shrine of Shah Cherish. This is the crypt of Seyed Amir Ahmad, the brother of Imam Reza, the 8th Imam. The exterior of the Shrine looks totally wonderful in the dark. The Shrine is a Holy Place and a significant place for pilgrimage, but it is open to non-Muslims, as long as you enquire permission first and under the state that women are dressed in a chador. We are even allowed to look in, where a service is going on. We observe a lot of grief come out, men throw themselves against the crypt, women are crying, and there are people praying all over the place. While at the same time a little boy is walking just about serving tea. This service is something we have never seen in our lives, still a little bit shaken we go away for our hotel. The next morning, we go back to the Shrine, but it doesn't have the magic any longer it had in the dark.