After a slight change of plan, we finally reached Shiraz last night instead of in the morning. Ebi's friend Khosro has come along with us on our road trip as our un-official tour guide. His older brother and family live in Shiraz and they have been kind enough to let us stay with them. Shiraz is a truly beautiful city and there are many tourist sights to visit.

Historically, according to my guide book, it has been known as the heartland of Persian culture for more than 2000 years. It is famous for poetry and is home to two of Iran's most famous poets, Hafez and Saadi, both of whom died and were housed in magnificent tombs. You can read more about their lives and history here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadi_Shirazi and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez. Hafez, in particular, is regarded very much as a folk hero here in Iran and many believe that by reading his works, you can gain insight into your future. Both tombs were very busy when we visited them, showing that both figures are truly popular.

This morning, we also visited the Citadel of Karim Khan and tried some Faludeh, which is a frozen sorbet made with Vermicelli and rose water. It is special only to Shiraz and was delicious. The Citadel is a fortress which was built by Karim Khan, leader of Iran in the early Zand period: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arg_of_Karim_Khan. We strolled around the gardens and went into the old bath house, whose ceilings and walls are decorated with beautiful mosaics.

Once it was dark we also went to visit the Qurun Gate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arg_of_Karim_Khan

It is getting late and I have been allowed to come to the house of the family's grandmother, where there is internet. I don't want to keep them waiting, but they don't seem to mind. Will be back tomorrow to post more. Our tour guide, Khosro has planned more places for us to visit. We have decided to stay for an extra day, and are planning to visit Persepolis on Tuesday, so watch this space..!