Darvazeh Quran and good wishes for the passersby

reporter 1222 — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 07:00:39 +0000

TEHRAN – Standing at an entrance to Shiraz, Darvazeh Quran, a semi-historical gate, salutes travelers to the southern Iranian ancient city.

The gate is believed to bless people who pass beneath it before they undertake journeys by means of a copy of the Holy Quran being embedded at a small room atop.

The rectangular-based monument was initially built in the 18th century during Zand dynasty. However, it succumbed to several multiple quakes, which stroke the city during Qajar era (1785 to 1925).

Over its history, the monument has underwent several restoration and renewal projects, last of which was carried out recently for renovating its façade and bolstering its foundation.

An aerial view of Darvazeh Quran and its surroundings

The gate is adjacent to the upscale Shiraz Hotel and Khajou Kermani Park, a popular hangout for the locals and domestic travelers. Their peaceful atmosphere attracts foreign nationals as well who mainly come for observing locals and their interactions.

Shiraz is home to dozens of magnificent buildings, historical sites and scenic landscapes. It was literally the capital of Persia during the Zand dynasty from 1751 to 1794.

Under tourists’ eyes

Here is a select of comments that foreign visitors to the gate have posted to TripAdvisor, one of the most popular travel websites in the world:

‘Friendly locals, good view of Shiraz at night’

Qur’an Gate is a structure built on the fringe of Shiraz city, said to bless the people who passed beneath it. On the side of the gate is a park where you could have a bird’s eye view of the glittering city at night. (Wei T. from Singapore, reviewed October 2017)

‘Not worthy a detour’

If you are in the neighborhood and have a lot of spare time make a quick stop, otherwise scratch it from your list to see other sites. (Wim Antwerp from Brasschaat, Belgium; reviewed October 2017)

‘Great place to visit’

We enjoyed visiting this site and were able to take many photos both of the gate, the large Iranian flag, and the surrounding hills. A local guide told us that a large copy of the Quran was once kept on top, and people would walk under the gate as a “blessing”.

The Quran is now kept in a nearby museum. We also walked to the top of 1 of the surrounding hills for amazing photos looking out over the city. (Randall K. from Canberra, Australia; reviewed September 2017)

‘Wonderful in the early evening’

This was a lovely cool spot to visit in the early evening to watch the sunset and see the view of the city of Shiraz.

The gardens and waterfall were picturesque and peaceful and it was a great plane for people watching. (Jennifer R. from Sydney, Australia, reviewed September 2017)

‘Nice place to stroll’

Nice place to stroll, you can see lots of Iranian come here with the family, picnic around the Quran gate. Should go in the evening. (Chee K. from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; reviewed April 2017)

The post Darvazeh Quran and good wishes for the passersby appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Darvazeh Qur’an: A Historic Gate North of Shiraz

reporter 1222 — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 08:33:32 +0000

TEHRAN – Darvazeh Qur’an is located in northeast of Iran’s southern city of Shiraz in the canyon of Allah-o Akbar between Chehel Maqam Mountain and Baba-Koohi Mountain and is located at the exit of Shiraz towards the city of Marvdasht.

Darvazeh Qur’an is less than 10 meters far from Khajavi Kermani tomb, less than five hundred meters far from Jahan Nama Garden, and less than a thousand meters far from the shrine of famous Persian poet Hafez-e Shirazi and Jahan Nama Garden. This is one of the most beautiful Islamic gates.

The gate was originally built in Azod-o Doleh-e Deilami time and a Qur’an was placed in it bless the travelers passing beneath it. The gate was renovated during Zandiyeh Era by the order of Karim Khan Zand and a chamber was added on top of it and two large exquisite Qur’an calligraphed by Soltan Ibrahim Ibn-e Shahrokh-e Teymoori were placed in the top chamber.

These Qur’ans, known as “Qur’an-e Hefdah-Man” (Qur’an weighted 51 kg), has been transferred from Darvazeh Qur’an to Pars Museum. Darvazeh Qur’an encountered lots of damages caused by several earthquakes in the Qajar period, but then repaired by Mohammad Zaki Khan-e Nouri.

The monument was also called Taq-e Qur’an (Qur’an Arch) in the past. In the first few days of each month, people were going out of the city and passing from under the arch. In 1936 AD, it was destroyed by the order of Reza Khan. The current Darvazeh Qur’an was built by the effort of a merchant from Shiraz, near the old gate in 1949 AD.

The new gate was constructed in a larger size, including a sharpened arc opening and two small entrances on the pier of each side and a rectangular room on top of the gate. In this building, some verses from the Qur’an are calligraphed in Sols and Naskh calligraphy all around the gate.

On top of the gate, there were two manuscripts of Qur’an written in Sols calligraphy attributed to Sultan Ibrahim Ibn-e Shahrokh-e Teymuri. The books were moved to Pars Museum in 1937 AD, and are still kept in there.

It should be noted that the construction of this building so far has been reconstructed 3 times.

The post Darvazeh Qur’an: A Historic Gate North of Shiraz appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Darvazeh Qur'an Archives - Iran News Daily

Darvazeh Quran and good wishes for the passersby

Darvazeh Qur’an: A Historic Gate North of Shiraz

TEHRAN – Darvazeh Qur’an is located in northeast of Iran’s southern city of Shiraz in the canyon of Allah-o Akbar between Chehel Maqam Mountain and Baba-Koohi Mountain and is located at the exit of Shiraz towards the city of Marvdasht.