TEHRAN—A team of architects and cultural heritage experts has commenced work to restore and reinforce the Sadi mausoleum, where the 13th-century Persian poet and prose writer is laid to rest.A budget of 11 billion rials ($22,000) has been allocated to the restoration project, according to Fars province’s tourism chief.The project will involve repairing the damaged parts such as the mausoleum’s dome as well as strengthening the structure, Seyyed Moayyed Mohsen-Nejad said.Set amid generous gardens of evergreens, bitter orange, and roses, the mausoleum is one of Shiraz’s several shrines, housed in an open-sided colonnade built during the Pahlavi era.The tomb is easily reached from the shrine of a fellow poet, Hafez (1325–1390).Musharraf ad-Din ibn Muslih ad-Din, known as Sadi, is one of the greatest figures in classical Persian literature.

His best-known works are the Bustan (1257; The Orchard) and the Gulistan (1258; The Rose Garden).The Bustan is entirely in verse and consists of stories aptly illustrating the standard virtues recommended to Muslims – justice, liberality, modesty, and contentment – as well as reflections on the behavior of dervishes and their ecstatic practices.

The Gulistan is mainly in prose and contains stories and personal anecdotes.

The text is interspersed with a variety of short poems, containing aphorisms, advice, and humorous reflections.AFM