Here in Shiraz, the city of the poet Hafez, wine, grapes and poetry, nightingales and roses; the people are even friendlier and more relaxed than elsewhere in Iran. They pride themselves on their liberal attitudes and sophisticated way of living. Shiraz is most famous for the ancient site of Persepolis which is nearby. Someone who will remain nameless, and should know better, said ‘Oh you saw the film in Iran, I wouldn’t have thought they would show it there!’ They have shown the film a few times in Tehran apparently, so that is a small victory. But no, I saw the ancient Achaemenid site, one of the most complete sites from this area of the world. It was started by Darius the Great in 518BC as a summer palace for ritual purposes, where the many peoples
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