Shiraz today is primarily know to foreigners as a base from which to visit Persepolis, but the city once rivalled Baghdad as a centre of education, science and the arts. It still has much to offer in its own right. The small, quiet Naranjestan Garden with its richly decorated pavilion built between 1879 and 1886 is a peaceful spot in the cool of the early morning. In the town centre is the citadel that the Zand ruler Karim Khan pictured as part of a huge royal district to rival that of Esfahan, although later Zand rulers failed to capitalise on his vision. Nearby is the Vakil (Regent) Mosque built in 1773, with its tiled mihrab and its magnificent minbar (pulpit) carved from a massive piece of Azeri marble. The splendid Bazar-e Vakil is one of the most impressive in Iran and its high vaulted brick ceilings keep it cool even in the heat of midsummer. At the far end of the bazaar is the Mausoleum of Shah-e Cheragh where the remains of one of Imam Reza’s brothers are interred. It is a major Shiite pilgrimage site with an immense courtyard, and the beautifully proportioned shrine with a tiled dome and pair of minarets sits comfortably at one end. Elsewhere, the tomb of Hafez, Iran’s folk hero poet, has a perfect setting in a delightful garden laid out by Karim Khan, while the other great Shirazi poet, Sa’di, who lived from 1207 to 1291, has his tomb under the hills on the northeast edge of town.