Iran: Persepolis

Today was the day I was most looking forward to based on the itinerary this trip. I was not disappointed. We were up and off for Persepolis this morning, and after about a 30-45 minute drive, we arrived at the UNESCO World Heritage site. We had to walk a little ways from the parking lot, and the whole time I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. Closer and closer we came, and I could first see some tall columns stretching into the sky.

We eventually got to the site, climbed the hundred or so stairs and were greeted by the Gate of All Nations, where delegates from the various Persian outposts/ conquered areas would come once a year to meet with the king.

Persepolis itself was built around 525 BCE and was destroyed by Alexander the Great around 330 BCE. In the time in between, Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes and others built up Persepolis as the main meeting place. Google image the site, as I'm sure you'll see much better pictures there than what I was able to take with my iPhone.

After the gate, we continued on through the rest of the site, viewing the ruins of palaces and audience halls. Pretty much every wall was covered with carvings of lions and horses, soldiers and kings, lotuses and cedar trees... It was remarkable. We also climbed up the nearby hill/mountain to take a panoramic picture of the site. A remarkable morning.

We then went to a nearby restaurant for lunch and continued our site seeing with another site from the same time period called Naqsh-i Rustam, which was a necropolis of sorts where the tombs of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, etc. were all carved into a mountain face.

After exploring the site (and playing with an adorable puppy) we piled back into the van for the drive back to Shiraz. We had about an hour to kill before the light was right for our next stop, so we came back to the hotel for a short respite.

Our next stop was the tomb of another famous Persian poet, Hafez. I am amazed with the reverence Iranians hold their poets... Hafez was a poet from Shiraz who lived in the 11th and 12th century. The garden surrounding his tomb was spectacular, and since we arrived at dusk, the lighting was perfect. We met several curious Iranians who wanted to talk and chat with us. It is so refreshing to meet so many people who are genuinely friendly and just want to talk to you to satisfy their curiosity and welcome you to their country. They never ask for money or try to convert us or anything... It's really nice.

Our final stop of the day was the Mausoleum of Ali-Ibn Hamzeh, which is an extraordinary example of mirrored artwork. The walls, columns, ceiling, etc. are all covered in mirrors. When you walk around inside it feels like the whole room is shimmering. We arrived at evening and the dome of the mausoleum was all lit up for tomorrow's illumination celebration.

We then ate a delicious meal at a local restaurant (recommended to us by one of the guys we met on the street yesterday), and then made our way back to the hotel. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to Shiraz tomorrow morning, but have heard good things about Yazd, where we are heading tomorrow. Each day here just keeps getting better and better! I honestly can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!!!