Vakil Mosque located in Shiraz, situated to the west of the Vakil Bazaar next to its entrance, is a beautiful mosque built in the mid-18th century by Karim Khan Zand, the founder of the Zand Dynasty. Vakil means regent, which was the title used by Karim Khan. The mosque covers an area of 8,660m2 with only two halls instead of the usual four. This historic building was registered as national heritage about 76 years ago.
Walking towards the entrance of Vakil Mosque. The shops are part of Vakil Bazaar.
The entrance gate is decorated with coloured tiles in beautiful floral patterns.
The courtyard of Vakil Mosque.
Entering the mosque.
This is the night prayer hall, Shabestan, with an area of 2,700 m2.
It contains 48 monolithic pillars carved with spirals, each with a capital of acanthus leaves.
The minbar in this hall is cut from a piece of green marble with a flight of 14 steps. The speaker has to climb all the way up to sit there and face the people in the mosque.
After visiting Vakil Bazaar, I headed straight to the Vakil Bazaar which is just next to Vakil Mosque. Vakil Bazaar has five entrances with 2 rows of shops situated north-south and east-west direction and perpendicular to each other.
Vakil Bazaar is the main bazaar in Shiraz. It is the best place to buy all kinds of Persian rugs, spices, handicrafts and antiques. The floor of these shops are elevated, leaving a shelf in front of the shops running in all the length of the street.
Shiraz carpets are made in the villages around the city of Shiraz.
The are approximately 200 shops at the Vakil Bazaar.
I bought a colourful woven bag and some purses here as souvenirs.
Like many Middle Eastern bazaars, this bazaar also has a few mosque constructed behind or besides the bazaar.
Our tour guide brought us to a traditional dessert shop, to try Iranian cold dessert, Falude or Palude.
Palude is originally from Shiraz. It consists of thin vermicelli noodles made from corn starch mixed in a semi frozen syrup made from sugar and rose water. It is quite refreshing and the locals usually eat it during summer.
A courtyard in the bazaar.
This house is one of the monuments of Qajar dynasty which was built by Mirza Albolhassan Khan Moshir Almolk in 1288.
It has a pool in the middle of the courtyard.
Visiting the Vakil Mosque and Bazaar was a nice place to end to my tour in Shiraz.
When I finished shopping at the bazaar, it was already night time.
This was my last night in Shiraz. I’ll be visiting the Persepolis on the next day.
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