We head south out of Yadz towards the city of Shiraz which is situated in south central Iran, not too far from the Persian Gulf. Shiraz is known as “the heartland of Persian culture for more than 2000 years” and the city “synonymous with education, nightingales, poetry and wine” although not too much of the latter these days (Shiraz without Shiraz.....!!!). 

And I say “towards Shiraz” because our stop is at a station in a place called Sa’adat Shahr (where the usual group of railway officials and others (?) taking photos of us is waiting), the closest train station to Persepolis 

Persepolis conceived and built by Darius the Great and described as one of the “great wonders of the ancient world” was the capital of the world’s first known empire, the results of the conquests of Darius’ father, Cyrus the Great. Darius began construction of Persepolis, meant to showcase the power of the Achaemenid Empire, sometime after 520 BC when he inherited the throne. Over the next 150 years, Persepolis was embellished by Xerxes I & II, and Ataxerxes I-III. Although a lot of the structure was made of Stone, much was also constructed using wood. The end came in 330 BC, when the complex was sacked and burnt to the ground by Alexander the Great. Not only were the wooden beams and supports destroyed, but the fire melted the metal clamps which held the stones together causing the whole lot to collapse. Excavation and restoration began in the 1930’s and continues to this day

Ironically, it’s also Persepolis that was among the final straws leading to the Islamic revolution in 1979 with the resulting collapse of the Pahlavi dynasty and the exile of the last Shah. In a vain (literally and figuratively!) attempt to invoke the greatness and glories of the Achaemenid Empire and portray himself as a descendant of the Persian kings of that era, in 1971 Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi organized an extravagant celebration of the 2500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire. Mohammed Reza was the son of an army captain who overthrew the Qajar monarchy in 1921 and crowned himself king, the first of the Pahlavi dynasty. As such Mohammed Reza is no more a descendant of the Persian kings of two millennia ago than I am!! The big party took place at Persepolis in front of an invited audience of Iran’s high & mighty as well as 60 monarchs and heads of state from around the world. Because of security concerns, ordinary Iranians were excluded and could only watch the circus on TV. Instead of fanning the flames of Iranian nationalism and patriotism as the Shah had hoped, most Iranians considered the event a massive waste of money and just highlighted how out of touch he was. It was all downhill for the Shah from there and within a few years, he was gone and Iran became an Islamic republic. 

We arrive at Persepolis just after the gates open and for a short time, we have the site almost to ourselves. But it wasn’t too long before several groups of French, German and Italian tourists arrive and the peace and quiet (and photo ops!) are overtaken by a multilingual cacophony. The few tourists that do come to Iran of course all mostly go to the same sites and we begin to recognize each other!

After Persepolis there wasn’t a whole lot of time to explore Shiraz which is the best part of an hour’s drive away. And I have to admit that we spent some of what time we did have before rejoining the train in a carpet shop and enjoying a rather slow lunch in an excellent restaurant - both great examples of different aspects of Iranian culture....

Everyone has an Armenian friend!

Leaving Shiraz and heading northwest into central Iran, we arrive in the great city of Isfahan. For several hundred years from the 11th to the 18th centuries, Isfahan (or Esfahan) was the capital of Persia. The city reached its zenith during the reign of Shah Abbas the Great and the city’s arts and crafts, including carpet weaving were said to be the envy of the world. The magnificent main square (the world's second largest) and the extensive bazaar aside, the most surprising thing we come across is the city's Armenian quarter which dates back to the time of Shah Abbas who transported a colony of Christians here en masse. Few religions other than Islam are officially tolerated in Iran, but there are several Armenian churches and at least a small Armenian Christian community.

For "religious reasons", Armenians are allowed to consume some alcohol and so, Muhammed our guide informs us, "everyone has an Armenian friend"....