"Persepolis" is the name of a wonderful pair of graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi and a subsequent animated film based on these highly entertaining and moving memoirs of life growing up in Iran under the Shah and after the revolution and the almost decade long Iran/Iraq war that followed.
It was also our first destination outside of Tehran, as we flew on a late night flight south to the city of Shiraz (planes only seem to fly there very early in the morning or very late at night - or at least the ones that we flew on) and then woke up early the next morning to drive the 70 kilometers further south to visit the ruins.
The ancient city of Persepolis is a World Heritage Site that was built starting in around 515 BC and was the capital of ancient Persia. It was started by Cryus the Great and then really developed by Darius the Great and later Xerxes the Great (whose armies were defeated by Alexander the Great) - hey, enough with all "the Great" already!
The last Shah of Iran, the late Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, staged an elaborate coronation ceremony there in 1971 in an effort to present himself as a contemporary manifestation of the 2,500 year old tradition of "great" Persian rulers, and cloak himself in this symbol of national pride. The bleachers he built for the occasion, on which sat the kings and queens and prime ministers and presidents of many nations during that time at the height of the Cold War, are still standing on the site, but today they sit empty and unused and the pomp and circumstance of that distant ceremony are like the faded trumpets of a deposed era.
This was the most typical touristic day of our trip to Iran, but it was important for our delegation to get out of the cinemas and seminars and to allow our hosts to share with us their pride in their amazing cultural heritage.
As I played tour guide to the group with a book I borrowed from our real tour guide, it was easy to imagine a hopeful day in the future when, in a different political reality, Americans might include a stop at Persepolis as often as they would visit The Pyramids or the Parthenon.
Hey, maybe Yanni will even have a live concert here one day!! :)
The walls that are still standing are covered in the most amazing reliefs carved into the grey limestone. Looking at these drawings from thousands of years ago, with their rows of pictures telling stories, was like peering into an ancient nickelodeon and seeing the first movies ever made! I love these dudes holding hands in this shot! :)
A short drive from Persepolis and up on a high plateau where we were buffeted by a fierce wind and stunned by an amazing view stands the Necropolis, where the tombs of the Kings were carved from the sides of high cliffs overlooking the valley and Perespolis in the distance. Looted over the centuries, nothing remains but these monumental crosses in the stone.
At the same location was one of the coolest buildings we saw there, a tower of astrological purpose built by the ancient Zoroastrians. It looked like something that Stanley Kubrick should have used in one of his movies.
A truly awe-inspiring day in every way.
william
haha :))
Stanley Kubrick in Shiraz!
Posted by: hamidreza | March 19, 2009 at 03:37 AM
I love ruins, it's always fun to ponder on the lives of the people who have come before us, and how they can still impress us over the vast distance of time. I have seen the winged figures from the gates of the city that are in the British Museum and the Louvre, but they look really fabulous in place. Thanks for posting this.
Posted by: Janet M | March 19, 2009 at 10:34 AM