Safi ed-Din Shrine is seemingly one of the least visited WHS, that is reaaly surpising given that Ardabil is a big city easy to reach, and the place itself is really rewarding. Once you are in Iran (that is a much less difficult task than you think) it is easy to get to Ardabil. It is linked to all major cities, or directly either through Tabriz, that is only two hours on the motorway. (Less if you have a better car than we had.)

And once you are in Ardabil you cannot miss the Shrine -it is right in the middle of the city centre. From outside it does not offer too much - a regular blue-tiled religious building that you can see every now and then in Iran. But as you enter - there is an entrance fee for foreigners - with every step it is getting to be more and more miraculous.

Safi ed-Din is one of the most impoartant figures of the iranian history. His descendats, the Safavids, shaped iran to what it is now. They introduced the Shiite form of Islam, that is now the state religion of the country. Sheikh Safi-ad-din Is'haq Ardabili was the Kurdish eponym of the Safavid dynasty, founder of the Safaviyya order, and the spiritual heir and son in law of the great Sufi Murshid (Grand Master) Sheikh Zahed Gilani, of Lahijan in Gilan province in northern Iran. Most of what we know about him comes from the Safvat as-safa, a hagiography written by one of his followers. Sheikh Safi al-Din's has composed poems in the Iranian dialect of old Tati.He was a seventh-generation descendant of Firuz-Shah Zarrin-Kolah, a local Iranian dignitary.

The Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi, in Ardabil, was first built by his son Sheikh Sadr al-Dîn Mûsâ, after Sheikh Safi’s death in 1334. It was constructed between the beginning of the 16th century and the end of the 18th century. The mausoleum, a tall, domed circular tower decorated with blue tile and about 17 meters in height; beside it is the 17th-century Porcelain House preserving the sanctuary's ceremonial wares.

he most interesting and stunning part of the building is the interior of the shrine. The blue and gold ornamented tiles are miraculous.

The shriene can be the highlight of any tour in northern iran, well worth the detour from Tabriz.