Tomb of Hafez

Hafez, the 14th-century poet of Shiraz, is loved in Iran like no other. Almost every home owns a copy of his Divan, and people still open it at random to seek guidance — a practice called fal-e Hafez. His grave lies in a garden of orange trees and cypresses, the Hafezieh, beneath an open pavilion of eight columns built in 1935 to designs by the French architect André Godard.

Under the copper dome, tiled like the inside of a poet’s hat, the alabaster tombstone is engraved with his verses. Visitors lay a hand on the stone, recite a line or two and linger by the pools. Outside the gate, men with trained budgerigars will let a bird pick a poem card for you — your own small fal-e Hafez.