Lar
Lar is a city in the south of Fars province. The city of Lar is located 330 km southeast of Shiraz and 190 km northwest of Bandar Abbas and is 806 meters above sea level. Lar is one of the hot and dry regions in terms of climate and has mild winters and dry summers.
Lar has always been the hub of major commercial, economic, religious, and political events throughout history. Today, this city is a beautiful area for tourists, especially in late winter and early spring.
By going through countless pages of some references like the dictionary of Iranian cities and towns, or Dehkhoda, we learn that there are too many cities or small towns called Lar. For instance, Chabahar and Shahrekord also have a district with the name Lar.
It seems that there was no mention of Lar till the seventh and eighth century A.H. However, the existence of ancient roads that went from Firoozabad and Estakhr through Khonj, Alam Rudasht, Fal, and Asir to the ancient port of Siraf, the south, and its remnants along this route, is a sign of pre-Islamic culture and civilization of Lar. Lar was considered an important city during the Sassanid period due to the construction of a fire temple in this city.
This could be even learned from the language that the people of Lar speak with. The language and dialect of the inhabitants of the city are the local dialects of Larestani – Persian. Larestani dialect is also considered as one of the southwestern Iranian dialects which are related to the Persian language, Lori, and Tati dialects. Many linguists consider the language of Lar to be a remnant of Sassanid Persian and the Pahlavi language.
Some say, base on mythological and legendary history, Lar along with the names of its rulers, dates back to the time of Gorgin Milad. These people refer to some old verses in books and say that the name of Lar was once Lad after this Gorgin Milad. Later on, Lad turned into Lar. This assumption needs serious backups.
This city was created because of its access to trading roads and flourished because of that reason. This aspect has long been the essence of Lar till now. Lar city is famous for its international markets and businesses.
When the Safavid came to the throne, one of their major purposes other than keeping the country together, was to develop the trading system. Once again this trading aspect of Lar came to their attention due to its location on the trade route from Isfahan to the Persian Gulf. It became an important and vast province in southern Persia during the Safavid period and minted its commercial coin.
The religion of the people of Lar is Islam, 60% of the population are Shiites and 40% are Sunnis.
These documents show that the city of Lar has been devastated many times by earthquakes that occurred 700 years ago and every 45 years or 90 years.
The last horrible earthquake occurred in Lar in May 1960, as a result of which the new city of Lar is designed and built with the help of philanthropists and based on interesting and amazing plans.
In the new city of Lar, all the streets intersect and there are no dead ends or even alleys in the city. Wide streets and low, sturdy buildings gave the people of the city a better chance of surviving an earthquake.
The people of Lar have a great interest in local art, and every year local theaters are performed in this city, which is also of interest to the people. These theaters are written in their native language, Lari by talented writers.
However, Lar is more famous than before because of its Masghati. Halva Masghati of Lar is One of the most famous souvenirs of Larestan. As the name implies, it is a pastry with a combination of starch, oil, pistachio kernels, flour, sugar, and vegetable dyes.
This halva is attributed to one of the cities of Oman called Muscat, where the merchants of Larestan learned how to cook it during their trips to that city and brought it to Larestan. This halva is now exported to other cities in Iran in beautiful and colorful packages and different flavors.
Due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf, the city of Lar is a place for foreign tourists and Iranians living in the countries bordering the Persian Gulf, which has long had an international airport.
A city with numerous and beautiful reservoirs, lush groves, warm-hearted people, and special nature, which has long been a home for travelers.
Among the pre-Islamic historical monuments in Lar, we could mention Tomb Bot, Karian Fire Temple, Dragon Castle, and Qaisarie Lar Market.
Tomb Bot is one of the surviving antiquities of the Achaemenid palaces in Lar of Fars province. This work is very similar to Persepolis in terms of architecture and the patterns and drawings that have been carved on its walls. The columns and capitals of this palace are exactly similar to the capitals of Persepolis in volume and shape, and the lotus flower, which is one of the architectural features of Persepolis.
Qaisarie Lar Market is an exquisite and diverse collection of ancient architecture and is the oldest bazaar in Iran. The obvious manifestations of the architectural methods and techniques of the past – from pre-Safavid to Qajar, can be seen in this historical complex. Despite the dust on its face for hundreds of years, it is still strong that some earthquakes which distorted Lar, did not harm the Market.
It is interesting to know that Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz is modeled on the building of Qaisarie Lar Bazaar, with the difference that Vakil Bazaar is made of brick, and Qaisarie Lar Bazaar is made of stone.
Spice Road was one of the historical roads related to the Silk Road during the Safavid period. Products such as spices and fabrics entered Bandar Abbas from India and from there passed through this road through Jahrom and Fars to the center of Iran. For this reason, this road is known as Spice Road. The remains of this ancient road are visible in Lar. Care for some spices?