Since shiraz was the capital of Iran during the Zand dynasty, many buildings were added to the city during this time which the most well-known ones are: Karim Khan Citadel, Vakil Mosque, Vakil Bath and Vakil Bazar. In one of his travels to Isfahan, Karim Khan visits Naghsh-e Jahan and is deeply moved by its beauty, when he came to the throne, he decided to make a similar place in Shiraz. Following the Safavid style of architecture, Karim Khan made a citadel and used it as his palace. During Qajar’s era, it became the residential palace of a local ruler.
The citadel is a mixture of Military and Civil architecture. The military part consists of ramparts and moats and the civil, personal area, unlike the simple, plain defensive part of the citadel, is full of ornamentations and paintings. The contrast of a violent, intense façade with the delicate, beautiful inside reveals an important fact about Iranian culture and architecture, meaning the introverted nature of it.
There are four yards near the outer towers that were probably used as service areas. Three living quarters are placed in north, south and west part of the citadel with a two columned iwan in each one that was modified during Qajar’s time. Each hall is decorated with exquisite wooden lattice windows and colored glasses. The rooms have double-cased domes, the inner one is embellished with beautiful squinches and murals in Safavid style. A magnificent place to visit while in Shiraz and be reminded of a great leader who was called “Patron of Commoners” for all the free, public places he made.
