Tehran, May 28, IRNA - Vakil Mosque located in Shiraz, Fars province, is a beautiful mosque built in the mid -18th century by Karimkhan Zand, the founder of Zand Dynasty. The entrance gates as well as the interior of the mosque are decorated with colored tiles in beautiful floral patterns.

According to Armchairtravelogue.blogspot.com, the mosque covers an area of 8,660 square meters and has two halls and two entrance doors. Each door is three meters wide and eight meters high with floral patterns. The main hall known as Shabestan (night prayer room) is built on 48 identical stone pillars each of which is carved with spiral shape from a single stone. Due to such a large number of pillars, the hall which measures 2,700 square meters, is often referred as the Stone Forest, 'Iran Daily' said.

Shiraz is located in southwest of Iran along Khoshk River. Shiraz has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than 1,000 years. The earliest reference to the city, known as Tirazis, is on Elamite clay tablets pertaining to 2000 BCE.

In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters, thanks to the encouragement of its ruler and the presence of many Persian scholars and artists. Shiraz was the capital of Persia during the Zand Dynasty from 1750 until 1781, as well as briefly during the Saffarid rule.

Shiraz is known as the city of poets, literature and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be a city of gardens because of having many gardens and fruit trees.

By IRNA