Vakil Mosque and Bazaar

Karim Khan Zand made Shiraz his capital in the eighteenth century and built a group of public works in the centre, of which the mosque and the bazaar are the best known. The mosque has a large tiled courtyard and a prayer hall carried on forty-eight monolithic columns of stone carved in spirals, with a marble minbar cut from a single block, and its tilework runs to pinks and yellows that are distinctive of the Zand period. The bazaar next to it is a long brick-vaulted street with high arched ceilings, side courtyards, caravanserais and a bathhouse, still fully in use for carpets, spices, textiles and copper. The vaults keep the interior noticeably cool in summer, which was the intention.

What to look for

• Forty-eight spiral stone columns - the prayer hall of the Vakil Mosque.
• A single-block marble minbar - carved from one piece of stone.
• Brick-vaulted bazaar streets - high arched ceilings still in daily use.
• Zand-period tilework - pinks and yellows distinct from later Qajar work.

When to go

March to May and October to November. Two to three hours for both. The bazaar is liveliest in the late afternoon and closes around midday on Fridays. The mosque closes during prayers.

Practical notes

The mosque charges an entry fee and closes to visitors at prayer times without much warning. Modest dress is required and women need a headscarf. The bazaar is a working market and can be pushy toward foreign visitors in the carpet sections.

Nearby

Nasir al-Mulk mosque is a short walk; the Arg of Karim Khan is opposite.