Blogs from Persepolis, South, Iran, Middle East

I was oddly anxious about visiting Persepolis. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of whether it would be a disappointment - had Alexander made such a thorough demolition job in 330BC that there would be nothing worth seeing. In retrospect I needn't have worried, there is plenty to see and it is still an impressive place. Vahid walked us around the main elements of the site - I think we were lucky that it wasn't blazing sunshine at this exposed place. Whilst the buildings are fragmentary there are lots of marvellous reliefs to look at. We then had free time to explore further - Susan went for tea, I went to see the rock cut tombs in the hillside above the site. Going up the hill gave the opportunity to look down over the ... read more

Shiraz is old and beautiful, with plenty of sandstone structures and historic monuments. About two million people live here. The hotel was situated in the old city, within a maze of sandstone alleyways that kind of reminded me of the old city of Jerusalem. We walked the streets on our own and explored the area before finding a local Iranian restaurant for a late dinner. The room was quaint and comfortable and we had tea at the rooftop cafe before enjoying a pleasant sleep. Karl and Rebecca were truly British and required tea breaks every few hours. I was happy to oblige. Karl was fiending alcohol, but since this was a dry Islamic country and we didn't know any locals, there would be no way of getting any here. Not that I'm drinking much at this ... read more

While Europeans were swinging from the trees and bashing each other with clubs, there was the Persian empire. At its height, it spanned India in the east to Bulgaria (just north of Greece for the geographically inept). It was huge, extremely cultured and civilized. The Persians were known for being benevolent invaders, choosing not to oppress and not to integrate, but rather respect and maintain cultural identity where possible. For those of you that are familiar with the biblical stories, King Darius (Daniel and the lions den), King Cyrus (the king who let Nehemiah rebuild Jerusalem's walls) and King Xerxes (the king in Esther), I'm sure you have noticed that the kings were benevolent. The Persians also perfected the postal system and were able to deliver mail from India to Europe in fifteen days (mail from ... read more

shanbe Jan22Sat Up at the crack of dawn, even earlier, for a 5:00am full-day trip to Persepolis, Naqhsh-e Rostam and Naqhsh-e Rajab, before ending off with Passagardae, which according to LP is a questionable stop for what value there is to see at the site. Let's see! My driver, Ahmed Miere (a Shirazian with no English), arrives a little late and with only a slight detour to pick up his friend, who is along for the ride, we head off for less than an hour or so before getting to Persepolis. I am no history enthusiast, nor am I really particularly knowledgeable about Iranian times around 2 million B.C, but I understand that Persepolis, may be possibly the greatest empire of the Achaemenid period, and will be something to behold; this is what I have really ... read more

Rano przyjechala po nas pani przewodnik i zabrala nas do starozytnego Persepolis. Jako tlo historyczne niech posluzy link: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persepolis Dzis przy Persepolis jest wielki parking i smierdzace kible. I stosunkowo duzo turystow, na szczescie rowniez lokalnych. Sa tez pozostalosci miasteczka namiotowego, ktore pobudowal ostatni szach w 1971 i gdzie zorganizowal gigantyczna impreze - kolejna ekscentryczna zachcianke, ktora przyczynila sie do jego upadku. Gdy juz sie to wszystko minie i wejdzie sie po wielkich schodach na plaskowyz, na ktorym lezy miasto, ukazuja sie imponujace ruiny palacow - w Perspolis nikt nighy nie mieszkal, sluzylo tylko reprezentacji. kolumny i sciany wybudowane byly z kamieni wapiennych, laczonych olowianymi klamrami. Ozdobione rzezbami i plaskorzezbami, ktore opowiadaja historie dynastii. Dachy palacow byly z drewna i slomy, wiec gdy Aleks... read more