We arranged for a car and driver for the day so that we could visit several other sights as well as the main Persepolis site. It just wouldn't be possible to do it all in one day using public transport.
We were up early so not at our brightest. As we were likely to be out in the sun all day I went to put suncream on before we left and was on my second dollop when I realised that I was using travelwash and not suncream. So, it would have been double jeopardy - a hot sunny day and I would have been burned, or another thunderstorm and I would have been covered in bubbles.
First stop was Pasagardae - a vast site, of a city from over 2,500 years ago and built for the persian emperor Cyrus. There is not terribly much to see - although it looks like there may be much of the site still to be excavated - but Cyrus's impressive tomb is there and the remains of a couple of formal buildings.
Cyrus the Great, and his descendant Darius (also the Great ) are names I've known since I was a kid so it was very special to see these places where they'd lived.
Next we went to a site where 4 huge tombs had been cut out of a cliff-face - same sort of thing as Petra or Mount Rushmore. These were for my man Darius the Great, and also his successors Darius II, Xerxes I and Ataxerxes I - is this too much information ? If it is, sorry - just skip it - but I did find it quite exciting.
Whatever turns you on, right ?
The tombs were cut about 10 feet back into the rock and covered in bas-reliefs celebrating various triumphs etc. - the whole things maybe 100 ft high, with the tomb openings themselves about halfway up.
After that it was Persepolis itself - another enormous site where a large rocky area had been levelled and built up with great stone blocks to form a sort of plinth base to build the city on. So access is via a wide ceremonial double stairway up to a huge entrance portal. The whole purpose was to overawe vistors with the wealth and power of the persian empire. And it must have been hugely effective.
There are many old graffiti on the entrance portal, some of them must have been done very carefully with hammer and chisel because they are actually in fonts. My favourite was one which read " Lt Col Malcolm J Meade, HM Consul General 1898".
And below, almost apologetically, " Mrs Meade".
You couldn't make it up.
I assume his aide de camp or whatever wielded the chisel.
Overall, though, I have mixed feelings about Persepolis. There were some wonderful things to see - marvellous reliefs depicting visitors from various parts of his empire bringing gifts as tribute to Darius (Persepolis was his) and a clear impression of the scale and grandeur of the place.
But much of what has been excavated has been re-covered - encased in mud walls with a mud/straw cap - presumably for protection, and so cannot be seen. Many of the staircases have been overlaid with wooden steps - again for protection, but it means that you can't see the originals. And many of the pedestals and columns looked suspiciously unweathered so it was hard to be sure exactly what one was looking at.
After we had seen most of it we climbed a hill at the rear of the site and had a spectacular view over the whole place.
At the top I got talking to 3 local guys who were just hanging around up there. After the usual pleasantries one asked me what I thought of President Ahmadinejad. We have developed a policy of being non-commital so I said I didn't know much about him. And after a brief silence I asked him what his opinion was. He said he thought the president was very good - the first time we have heard that. And then a couple of minutes later he said " I am policeman".
We will stick to our policy.
We were up early so not at our brightest. As we were likely to be out in the sun all day I went to put suncream on before we left and was on my second dollop when I realised that I was using travelwash and not suncream. So, it would have been double jeopardy - a hot sunny day and I would have been burned, or another thunderstorm and I would have been covered in bubbles.
First stop was Pasagardae - a vast site, of a city from over 2,500 years ago and built for the persian emperor Cyrus. There is not terribly much to see - although it looks like there may be much of the site still to be excavated - but Cyrus's impressive tomb is there and the remains of a couple of formal buildings.
Cyrus the Great, and his descendant Darius (also the Great ) are names I've known since I was a kid so it was very special to see these places where they'd lived.
Next we went to a site where 4 huge tombs had been cut out of a cliff-face - same sort of thing as Petra or Mount Rushmore. These were for my man Darius the Great, and also his successors Darius II, Xerxes I and Ataxerxes I - is this too much information ? If it is, sorry - just skip it - but I did find it quite exciting.
Whatever turns you on, right ?
The tombs were cut about 10 feet back into the rock and covered in bas-reliefs celebrating various triumphs etc. - the whole things maybe 100 ft high, with the tomb openings themselves about halfway up.
After that it was Persepolis itself - another enormous site where a large rocky area had been levelled and built up with great stone blocks to form a sort of plinth base to build the city on. So access is via a wide ceremonial double stairway up to a huge entrance portal. The whole purpose was to overawe vistors with the wealth and power of the persian empire. And it must have been hugely effective.
There are many old graffiti on the entrance portal, some of them must have been done very carefully with hammer and chisel because they are actually in fonts. My favourite was one which read " Lt Col Malcolm J Meade, HM Consul General 1898".
And below, almost apologetically, " Mrs Meade".
You couldn't make it up.
I assume his aide de camp or whatever wielded the chisel.
Overall, though, I have mixed feelings about Persepolis. There were some wonderful things to see - marvellous reliefs depicting visitors from various parts of his empire bringing gifts as tribute to Darius (Persepolis was his) and a clear impression of the scale and grandeur of the place.
But much of what has been excavated has been re-covered - encased in mud walls with a mud/straw cap - presumably for protection, and so cannot be seen. Many of the staircases have been overlaid with wooden steps - again for protection, but it means that you can't see the originals. And many of the pedestals and columns looked suspiciously unweathered so it was hard to be sure exactly what one was looking at.
After we had seen most of it we climbed a hill at the rear of the site and had a spectacular view over the whole place.
At the top I got talking to 3 local guys who were just hanging around up there. After the usual pleasantries one asked me what I thought of President Ahmadinejad. We have developed a policy of being non-commital so I said I didn't know much about him. And after a brief silence I asked him what his opinion was. He said he thought the president was very good - the first time we have heard that. And then a couple of minutes later he said " I am policeman".
We will stick to our policy.
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