A whole day to explore Shiraz lay in front of us, with local tour guides. Punctually at 9.30 am, Ali and Tannaz, Hamid’s nephew and niece, picked us up from the hotel. Since we didn’t have any plans, the tomb of Hafez, a famous poet, was our first stop.

We all hopped into their car and while we were still on the way, we were invited for lunch by Ali’s and Tannaz’ mother Mozhgan via phone call. Such a lovely invitation! Trying to avoid awkward situations later, I immediately asked if it’s something I can eat as a vegetarian. The promised Shirazi food would be rice with vegetables and an optional addition of meatballs which sounded perfect and delicious. 🙂

The tomb of Hafez is an alabaster tomb stone inscribed with one of his poems in a pagoda set in a beautiful garden. Since it is spring, every flower was in bloom which gave the whole thing a colourful touch. Everyone learned something about weird flower names: Snapdragon is called the Farsi equivalent of “monkey”, while in German it is “baby lion’s mouth”.

After a stroll through the garden and a stop at the store to buy postcards, we left for the next tomb of a poet in Shiraz. On the way out, one of the hawkers gave us a taste of his “art” for free: His budgie would randomly pick a folded piece of paper for you which is giving you advice or insight into your fate. First, we all tried to avoid it but after his call of “no money” there really was no point in refusing. These papers are filled with quotes of Hafez’ oeuvre; it is so rich that Persians say you can read your whole life in it.

The tomb of Sa’adi was quite well visited when we arrived. One the way to the mausoleum, we spotted a child stomping through the flowers which was hilarious. Sa’adi also has an alabaster tomb stone but I didn’t get to see what was on it as two school girls spotted me, began a conversation and asked for a picture. The “lead” girl was really nervous and quite shaky when we took the picture. Right afterwards, I went back to my little group so extended her “welcome to my country” to all four of us, including Ali and Tannaz. It was so funny but she probably felt very embarrassed when they spoke Farsi to her…

Here, again, is a garden you can stroll through. Once out, we went straight into an ice cream parlour; the one on the opposite site of the mausoleum offers a Shiraz speciality. Unable to decide what we would like to try, Flo and I went for two different things so we could try both. I got the ice cream cone while Flo got a cup full of something that looked like overly large white sprinkles that you eat with a lemon sauce. Both of these desserts are made of potato starch which works surprisingly well but gives the ice cream, at least, a chewy texture…a bit like chewing gum or stringy cheese.

From here, we drove to the bazar. The different aisles combine to a maze and it’s really hard to know where you’re going, especially since now, it was packed with people. Ali and Tannaz showed us Seray-e Moshir which is a restored caravansary in the middle of the bazar. There are many, many stalls with things that would make good souvenirs…but we cannot take anything on the motorbike. Sometimes it’s sad that we are so limited in space, otherwise, my bags would be full of little chests and a chess board by now though.

On the plaza of the caravansary, there is a wooden stall labelled ”café” which actually sells coffee. Flo had been deprived of coffee for four days now as the drink of choice here is clearly tea and coffee is simply not offered in most places. This one had it and Flo was so happy to get a fix. Plus, the tray with our drinks came with four little cupcakes as well…what more could you ask for? It was the perfect place to sit down, relax for a bit and give me enough time to call my family in Germany.

The clock told us that it’s 1.30 pm already so we now headed “home” to have a real Shirazi lunch. It was lovely. First, we got to try the Shirazi drink Sekanjebin (mint, sugar, grape vinegar and water) which was very refreshing before sitting down and having lunch. This time, I was clever enough to wait and see which dish goes on which plate. 😉 There was a side of a tomato, cucumber, onion salad in a bowl with the main being a mountain of rice mixed with vegetables. Everyone except me added meatballs to it and the now crispy lettuce leaves on which the rice was cooked were divided up to add a bit of crunch to the rice. It was yummy! An extra vegetarian salad with peas, carrots and chick peas was also on the table but I only dared to take it after our hosts had added it to their plates. It was still part of the main dish. Dessert came in form of a plate of halwa made from wheat flour and sugar and pieces of melon. Once we were completely filled with delicious food, it was time for the second dessert: Jelly. Everyone got a little bowl of red jelly and my goodness, it’s been a long time since we last had jelly! Now we were so full that we couldn’t really move anymore. This is when coffee and tea were brewed. Yes, Flo got a second cup of coffee on the same day and was super happy with it. Chocolate pieces and a mix of different nuts were offered to the drinks and I couldn’t say no to chocolate….

After the feast, we spent some time talking to Ali and Mozhgan before, at 5pm, we felt good to head out again for some more sightseeing. All four of us hopped back in the car and off we went towards one of Shiraz’ gardens. With everything in bloom, it is especially pretty at the moment so we spent quite some time there. It was also nice to watch the locals for a bit even if it seems to be a popular place for tourists as well. Flo and I spotted our first two Persian goths but didn’t dare to ask for a picture. Might have to wait for Tehran for that.

The sun was slowly setting but it has been a long day already. We tried one more garden but it would close in 30 minutes and thus didn’t admit any more visitors. So we were dropped off at our hotel as the last stop. It was a great day for us and we are thankful to all the amazing people who made it great: Ali and Tannaz for spending the whole day with us, being awesome tour guides and inviting us to all the tourist attractions. Mozhgan for inviting us for lunch which was delicious and into her family home and of course poor Hamid who made sure we had contact to locals despite being injured and in hospital at the moment. THANK YOU ALL!