Shams of Tabriz Tomb Hoped to Be World Cultural Heritage Site

The Tomb of Shams of Tabriz in Khoy, Iran, which will be renovated to become a widely-visited tourist destination. The border city of Khoy with a population of 356,000 is located 130 km to the north of Orumiyeh, the capital of West Azarbaijan province.


The Sufis believe that Shams of Tabriz was elevated to a symbol of God's love for mankind.

Shams of Tabriz (Persian, Shams-e-Tabrizi) who is estimated to have died at 1248 AD was an Iranian Sufi mystic born in the city of Tabriz in Iran. He is responsible for initiating Mawlana Jala ad-din Mohammad Rumi, usually known as Rumi in the West, into Islamic mysticism, and is immortalized by Rumi's poetry collection)"The Works of Shams of Tabriz" (Persian, Divane Shamse Tabrizi). Shams lived together with Rumi in Konya, in present-day Turkey, for several years, and is also known to have travelled to Damascus in present-day Syria.

Last August, Chairman of Khoy Islamic City Council proposed that the tomb of Shams of Tabriz be turned into an international tourism and cultural complex. [Iran Daily]

Iran's non state-run "Rumi Home" association director, Mehdi Meigani has recently informed that the association was determined to register Shams' Shrine in Khoy as one of world cultural heritage sites in the UNESCO. [LINK]