TEHRAN – The architectural design for the mausoleum of Shams of Tabriz was unveiled during a ceremony yesterday in Khoy, which is home to the mausoleum of the tutor of the Persian poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi.
The design was created by the acclaimed Iranian architect Nader Ardalan who is a senior research associate at Harvard University.
“Construction of a mausoleum for Shams of Tabriz is a spiritual mystery,” Ardalan said at the ceremony and added, “Understanding the mystery and – naturally – solving it is not a simple task at all.”
“For solving the mystery, one should not only be a good architect but also should know the character of Shams well,” Ardalan stated.
“If so, you can expect the visitors to be mesmerized by the mystery of the mausoleum,”
Several literati and officials including Managing Director of the Shams and Rumi Foundation Hojjatollah Ayyubi and the director of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel attended the ceremony.
The scholar and literati Mohammad-Ali Movahed, 91, who has done much research on Shams, was also honored during the ceremony.
Photo: A bust of Shams of Tabriz is display near his grave in Khoy.
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