Shiraz is world-famous as the city of roses, nightingales, and gardens, with many cultural attractions inside the city and UNESCO-listed ancient sites around it. Eram garden is considered the most celebrated garden of Shiraz and one of the 9 famous Persian Gardens inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. The garden is located Northwest of Shiraz inside a well-expanded urban area and is used as a botanical garden open to the public. The word Eram means paradise referring to the heavenly beauties and atmosphere of the garden like the outstanding buildings, the stone pools, the beautiful array of flowers, fragrant trees, and the impressive old cypress trees.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
The History of Eram Garden
The history of the garden dates back to the Seljuk dynasty (10th Century) Although it has changed a lot in size and form throughout history especially from the 18th century on. During the 18th century, the garden was owned by Mohammad Khan, the leader of the Qashqai tribes of Fars Province when he started constructing some buildings in the garden, but the current buildings of the garden were mainly built when the owner of the garden was Hossein Ali Khan Nasir al Mulk who was one of the richest and most powerful people of the time. He chose Haj Mohammad Hasan as the architect for constructing the pavilion of the garden, the same architect who built the charming Nasir Al Mulk Mosque of Shiraz. For a short time, the ownership of the garden was given to Qashqai families again until it was confiscated by the Pahlavi government and given to the University of Shiraz. Big changes were made in the garden like replacing the old mud walls with new iron railings, cutting old trees to make room for lawns, planting new and varied types of trees, and turning the Eram garden into a beautiful botanical garden. The garden is opened to the public since 1980.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
The pavilion of the Eram Garden
One of the architectural characteristics of a Persian garden is having a pavilion. The construction of the beautiful pavilion of Eram Garden took several years and was completed in 1893. This three-story building is a truly amazing art and architectural masterpiece. There is a semi-circle pediment on top of the building, a characteristic of Qajar architecture for decoration another example of which you can see in the Naranjestan Ghavam. The pediment is decorated with some seven-color Qajar style paintings portraying historical and mythical characters like Naser Aldin Shah the 4th king of Qajar dynasty riding a white horse, Joseph the prophet and Zuleikha, Solomon the prophet and queen of Sheba, Rostam the great hero in the mythical book of Shahnameh and many other fairy creatures. The building’s exterior is also decorated with Nastaliq calligraphy inscriptions.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
The ground floor is called Howz Khaneh, which means the pool house, was designed to be used by residents during hot summer days of Shiraz and today is a Geoscience and precious gems museum open to the public. This floor is also decorated with seven color tiles portraying mythical characters, hunting scenes, and landscapes. Stories two and three are centered with halls and surrounded by chambers and are very similar in design. These floors are used by the Shiraz University faculty of arts and are not open to public. The front pool which is one of the most famous elements of the Eram Garden beautifully endows the pavilion with great appeal.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
Different parts of the Eram Garden
As a botanical garden, the Eram Garden of Shiraz offers a remarkable variety of plants and vegetation collected from Iran and other parts of the world spread beautifully around the garden and creating a refreshing atmosphere in different parts of the garden like the Rock Garden, The Pomegranate Garden, the Medlar Garden, the Persimmon Garden, the Weeping Willow section, the Loquat Garden, different passages, aquatic plants pond, citrus garden, the Rose Garden, greenhouses, seasonal flowers, and many other parts. One of the most famous attractions of the Eram garden is a passage with several old tall cypress trees. Among them, there is a beautiful one known as the Sarv-e Naaz. This cypress tree is the tallest and the oldest among all with an age of more than 1000 years.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
The water source for the garden’s irrigation is an ancient Qanat called Nahr-e Azam and two wells. Although the original four-fold pattern of the garden has been changed a lot throughout history, the tall mud walls were replaced with iron railings and the landscaping of the garden has changed a lot from its original look, the Botanical Eram Garden of Shoraz is still considered as one of the most beautiful Persian gardens on earth.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
Tips for visiting the Eram garden
- The best season to visit the Botanical Eram Garden of Shiraz is of course spring when Shiraz citrus trees bloom and create a heavenly atmosphere, and the whole garden is covered with flowers
- The best time of day for visiting the Eram Garden is in the afternoon. If you are in Shiraz during hot days of spring and summer, choosing this garden as the last visit of the day before sunset would be a good idea, but make sure to visit Eram when there’s still light.
- It takes 45 – 60 minutes to visit different parts of Eram Garden and to have a nice walk around.
- There are bookstores, handicraft shops, and cafes in Eram Garden, and since Shiraz is known as the city of herbal drinks, try them in one of the cafes of the garden.
- At the entrance, ask for a garden brochure available both in English and Farsi explaining briefly about the garden plus a suggested walking route.
- During the spring season, you might be able to buy some fruits like Medlar in the garden.
The Botanical Eram Garden - Shiraz, Iran
