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Today we were again reminded that Iran’s appeal is not limited to what the travel guidebooks pitch. There’s awe-inspiring beauty in many of Iran’s small towns, sans the traffic and expense of the touristy hotspots.

Gonabad (go-NAW-bawd) is 288 km south of Mashhad in northeast Iran. It’s not even on the primary route from Mashhad to the southern cities of Tabas and Kerman. We had stopped in to visit its UNESCO-inscribed qanat. But when we stumbled on the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology and the Jame Mosque, we quickly realized there’s far more to this ancient town of 40,000, known for its saffron production.

Jame Mosque of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

In the light heat of the April afternoon, we were the only souls in the 700-year-old mosque because most of the town was probably sleeping. We walked the sahn (courtyard) in bewilderment at the massive structures around us. We felt privileged having the place to ourselves in near silence.

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Jame Mosque of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

The mihrab at the Jame Mosque of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Jame Mosque of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

At the museum, the traditional lifestyle is depicted by lifesize dioramas.

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A traditional wedding depicted at the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Cleaning saffron flowers depicted at the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Rug weaving depicted at the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Jame Mosque of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Massive Glory in Sleepy Towns Today we were again reminded that Iran's appeal is not limited to what the travel guidebooks pitch.

#Gonabad #Province of Khorasan

Swimming on a hot day is good. Swimming 15 meters under the desert in a 2,500-year-old canal is extra special.

I am 15 meters below ground, inside one of the world’s oldest qanats – the system of underground canals Persians invented to transport water from the mountains to the desert.

Entrance to the Pawyab at the Ghasabe (Qasabeh) Qanats of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Ghasabe (Qasabeh) Qanats of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

The Ghasabe (a.k.a.Qasabeh) Qanats of Gonabad, in northeast Iran, are some of the oldest and largest qanats in the world, built between 700 BC to 500 BC by Cyrus the Great and other kings. Last year the qanats were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site called the “The Persian Qanat“.

This is one of the privileges of travelling in Iran: in a tiny dusty town, far from hustle and bustle of touristy and overcrowded Isfahan and Shiraz, I get to take my clothes off and take a dip in an ancient museum piece that elsewhere might be off-limits to even foot traffic.

Once waist deep inside the cool water, I turn on a flashlight and start walking in the channel that snakes under the desert for more than 33 km with the aid of 472 access shafts. At its beginning the channel is 300 meters under the ground! Somehow – and no one’s entirely sure how they managed this with the technology of 2,500 years ago – the shaft remains nearly level its entire length, as it transports 150 liters of water per second to this location, and from here to locations in and around Gonabad (go-NAW-bawd).

Ghasabe (Qasabeh) Qanats of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

I walk the channel about 50 meters, sloshing over soft moss, before Saeideh gets nervous and begs me back. I turn off the flashlight. It’s pitch dark. There’s a deep hum in the background. I am reminded of the spaceship air shafts in the movie Alien (1979), where the creature hunted the captain.

A local tells us every summer Europeans visit to walk the qanat. “They seem to know more about how the qanat works than us Iranians,” he says. “Once I saw a Frenchman on TV explaining it for an entire hour.”

Later, at the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology we find out qanat-related jobs are common in this part of the country because qanats are so commonplace.

Qanat workers depicted at the Gonabad Museum of Anthropology, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

Ghasabe (Qasabeh) Qanats of Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran

What we didn’t see were the much larger and taller tunnels further out, which are open to the public only on special occasions. The photos are breathtaking. We have to come back.

Qanat Gonabad UNESCO Site, Photo by by Morteza Lal, through Wikipedia.

Swimming & Wonderment Under the Desert Swimming on a hot day is good. Swimming 15 meters under the desert in a 2,500-year-old canal is extra special.

#Qanats

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or 2,500 years Zoroastrians left their dead outside to be consumed by carrion birds. The idea was to avoid contaminating the soil and the fire, both of which are considered sacred.

The place they laid out the bodies ceremonially is called a dakhmeh, consisting of a perfectly symmetrical flat-topped stone tower, where the bodies were laid out for days for the birds to feast on. The leftover bones were then burned. This practice was abandoned in the 1960’s. The dead now are buried in a Zoroastrian cemetery nearby.

Saeideh and I were delighted to not find a single soul around. Being able to explore on your own is the best part of travelling in Iran. When we got to the top, it was the mountain scenery and the scale of giant flat and arid valley surrounding us that kept us enthralled.

Okay, yes, lots of human bodies were consumed here. I felt I needed to focus on that. But instead, the mind-boggling scenery around the dakhmeh and howl of the wind kept our attention.

From up there, you see trucks and buses rolling on highways miles away, appearing like tiny insects next to giant rocky mountains hovering over the valley.

The are two dakhmes in Yazd. We went to the lesser-known one near Cham, on the road between Taft to Yazd, because it’s a much shorter climb to the top.

It was the writings of 19th century German researchers about the dakhmeh that fascinated so many Europeans about Zoroastrians.

Here are our pics:

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Ali & Saeideh at the Cham Dakhmeh, near Yazd, Iran

Dakhmeh-ye Cham, Yazd

The road to Yazd from Taft

A Gateway to the Afterlife – Zoroastrian style For 2,500 years Zoroastrians left their dead outside to be consumed by carrion birds. The idea was to avoid contaminating the soil and the fire, both of which are considered sacred.

#Cemetery #Yazd #Zoroastrianism

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Young female shephard, Near Bisheh, Lorestan, Iran

Window of Steel, aka Fulad Window at Imam Reza Shrine, Mashhad, Iran

Village of Zafaraniyeh

Vakil Historical Bath, Shiraz, Iran

Touring picture-perfect Lorestan, Iran

The road from Qazvin to Alamut Castle, Qazvin Province, Iran

This museum is the largest ethnography museum in Iran. See Gallery

Tehran’s famed Naderi (NAW-deri) Cafe, established 1927, on Jomhouri Ave.

Tajrish Bazaar, Tehran, Iran

skewers of charcoal-grilled ground veal and mutton.

Azizi family preparing skewers of charcoal-grilled ground veal and mutton.

Shopping in and around Jome (JOE-meh) Bazaar, on Tehran’s Jomhouri Ave.

Shopping for ceramics in Meybod, Yazd Province, Iran

The 300-year-old Post House or Chapar-khaneh, formerly a station in the postal system used by Achaemenid Empire.

Photo session at Meybod Caravanserai

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Outside Meybod Caravanserai

Near Sefiddasht, Lorestan, Iran

Near Bisheh, Lorestan, Iran

The Naval Museum (a.k.a. Mian-Poshte Palace کاخ میان‌پشته) in Bandar-e Anzali, Gilan Province

The Narin Qal’eh (In Persian: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Iran.

The 1800-year-old city of Meybod, a former capital of Iran, as seen from Narin Castle.

The Narin Qal’eh (In Persian: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Iran.

The 1800-year-old city of Meybod, a former capital of Iran, as seen from Narin Castle.

The Narin Qal’eh (In Persian: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Iran.

The 1800-year-old city of Meybod, a former capital of Iran, as seen from Narin Castle.

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Mostafa Rahemi, Attari (Persian traditional medicine man) in Shiraz

The 400-year-old Meybod Yakhchal (Ice house) – a remarkable feat of engineering.

Meybod Caravanserai

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Near Sefiddasht, Lorestan, Iran

Lavizan Forest Park, Tehran

Jameh Mosque of Borujerd

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Imāmzādeh Sāleh Mausoleum, Tajrish, Tehran

Imāmzādeh Sāleh (Persian: امامزاده صالح‎‎) is a shrine and mosque in north Tehran, known as the burial place of the brother of Imam Reza.

Imāmzādeh Sāleh (Persian: امامزاده صالح‎‎) is a shrine and mosque in Tajrish, in north Tehran, known as the burial place of the brother of Imam Reza.

Terrace overlooking the historical bridge in Kakareza, Iran

Iman Reza Shrine Dar-al Hojjeh, Mashhad, Iran

Iman Reza Shrine Dar-al Hojjeh, Iran’s Wailing Wall, Mashhad, Iran

Iman Reza Shrine Dar-al Hojjeh, Mashhad, Iran

Ibrahim, 72, a shephard in the village of Kharaghan, north of Shahrud, Iran

Home of Asgar Azizi in the Village of Kakareza, Lorestan, Iran

Ethnography Museum at Falak-ol-Aflak Castle, Khorramabad, Lorestan, Iran

Ethnography Museum at Falak-ol-Aflak Castle

Eating at the home of Asgar & Kayhan Azizi, Kakareza, Lorestan, Iran

Babak Castle, near Kaleybar, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran

“I’ve known people all over Iran and discovered that with people, it’s only their heart that’s big or small,” shepherd Mohammed Motamedi told us.

Azizi family preparing skewers of charcoal-grilled ground veal and mutton.

Hello, I’m Ali. I traveled and lived around the world searching for a home. Then I ended up marrying an Iranian and found my peace in the least expected place – the country I escape nearly 40 years ago. This is the story of Saeideh and I on why living and traveling in Iran is so incredibly unpredictable and yet rewarding.

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A Chador Photo Session, outside Nain, Isfahan Province, Iran.

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To millions of Iranians it’s a symbol of purity. To its clergy it represents the critical bulwark against indulgence, and to a lot of Westerners it epitomizes misogyny.

I can’t think of a more controversial piece of clothing than the chador.

And it’s a lot of fun to photograph, especially in the wind. Thankfully, I’m married to a woman who loves to model for me in the chador.

It’s just a matter of pulling over at a patch of desert (yeah, they’ve got a lot of those here) and beg Saiedeh to hurry up before the sun disappears behind the clouds.

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A Chador Photo Session, outside Nain, Isfahan Province, Iran.

The Chador in the Desert To millions of Iranians it's a symbol of purity. To its clergy it represents the critical bulwark against indulgence, and to a lot of Westerners it epitomizes misogyny.

#Chador #Hejab #Iranian Women

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]ranians mostly stink at running hotels. The maddening inefficiencies and amateurish missteps one sees even in 5-star outfits are tragic (and often comical) examples of an ancient culture struggling with something essentially foreign.

But receiving guests at home and connecting with strangers eye-to-eye, well, that’s as Iranian as it gets. Persian hospitality at home is a force of goodwill unmatched by any hotel trappings anywhere in Iran.

That’s why when I’m on the road, I’m always on the lookout for locals who have opened their homes to foreign tourists.

My latest find in the homestay category is the family estate of Ramtin and Tina Shohrat (SHOWH-rat) in the town of Taft, 24 km southwest of Yazd.

Ramtin (RAWM-tin) was studying for a Master’s in tourism in Tehran when he talked his father into refurbishing the family’s 100-year-old estate that had been abandoned decades earlier.

The result is the year-old Nartitee Ecolodge, with the capacity of 20 guests in six rooms and a communal bathroom of very clean multiple sinks, toilets and shower stalls.

Nartitee Ecolodge, Taft, Yazd Province, Iran

Saeideh and I arrived in mid-March, late, tired and anxious, but thrilled to have made our latest escape from Tehran.

We found the young couple waiting on us into the night, all smiles, offering us hot tea from a samovar and a box of the famed Yazdi pastries.

We sat facing our hosts in a giant main room still wearing our jackets and winter caps because only the bedrooms are heated. We didn’t mind, though. Somehow the smiles and the sweets made up for the cold.

The walls of the home were entirely covered by kahgel – a mixture of mud and hay that used to be the primary construction material for all rural homes in Iran. It’s beautiful, soothing, a great insulator, and even smells good when it gets wet.

The drinking water was served from kuzeh – earthenware pottery of ancient times.

Our room was windowless and cave-like and entirely covered with kahgel. No beds. Just bundles of bedding to open and spread on the carpeted ground next to a gas heater. To my shock, instead of getting claustrophobic from being in a windowless room – once at a Barcelona hotel, I threw a temper-tantrum when I was given a windowless room – I slept like a baby.

Our room at Nartitee Ecolodge, Taft, Yazd Province, Iran

“It felt like sleeping inside a womb,” Saeideh said the next day.

In the morning, we ate with our hosts in a long dining hall again covered entirely with kahgel and partly lit by a stream of sunshine pouring in from a tiny round skylight above.

It was probably the best breakfast I’ve had in Iran. Nearly everything on the kalamkari table cloth, including a variety of jams, halva, cheese and butter, was homemade. No 5-star hotel can match that anywhere in Iran.

Between cups of tea, Ramtin and Tina entertained with stories about their year-long adventure hosting tourists from all over the world. Many Iranians and Europeans; no Americans as of yet.

Behind them and pretty much in every room hanged a depiction of the Iranian prophet Zoroaster because the family is Zoroastrian, like many others in Yazd Province. One room sits unused because it is the “room of meditation”. And all the walls bear splotches of a white plaster-like mixture, which are applied in an annual blessing ceremony.

And occasionally Tina cleanses all the rooms with smoke from a burning mixture of sage and other herbs favored by Zoroastrians – something like the “sacred smoke bowl blessing” (a.k.a. smudging) of Native Americans.

Ramtin, a certified tourist guide, gave me a map and planned a self-driven sightseeing tour of Yazd. “Let’s see how far you can get today; the rest you can do tomorrow,” he said.

Great hosts, a womb-like cave for a bedroom, a fantastic leisurely breakfast. What could top all this? we wondered as we stepped out into the sunshine.

Well, the next surprise was the bagh (BAWGH – Persian for garden) in the back. Tina opened a wooden gate and we stepped into a glorious menagerie of blooming fruit trees.

Nartitee Ecolodge, Taft, Yazd Province, Iran

In the street outside, lined with other estates and kahgel walls and blooming trees, we faced yet another wonder: a giant rocky mountain jutting out in the horizon, like a mythical wild beast.

I turned to Tina, who grew up in Tehran and followed her husband into her first rural living experience, and blurted out: “This is incredible. This is an amazing place you live in.”

She just smiled with a knowing twinkle in her eyes. More than likely she is now used to such exclamations by visiting guests.

Nartitee Ecolodge, Taft, Yazd Province, Iran

Persian Hospitality vs. Iranian Hotel Fiascos Iranians mostly stink at running hotels. The maddening inefficiencies and amateurish missteps one sees even in 5-star outfits are tragic (and often comical) examples of an ancient culture struggling with something essentially foreign.

#Traditional Accommodations #Yazd

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The Narin Qal’eh (In Persian: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Iran.

Here’s how NOT to visit a 7,000-year-old Iranian city: do your research beforehand, not after getting home.

When I saw Meybod from the top of the 2,000-year-old Narin Castle, I was instantly sorry I couldn’t stay. It’s filled with tiny alleys and walkways with adobe walls, perfect for hours of what I call alley-diving – free-wheeling exploration and photography of ancient alleys and ruins.

It was not to be. I arrived here having done zero research about this former capital of Iran, 55 km northeast of Yazd. The weather was perfect, the sun was shining, and except for a gaggle of European tourists, the city seemed deserted.

But I had to get back to Tehran for a meeting the next day. So we rushed through a few sites in the city’s historic section.

Besides Narin Castle, we saw the Meybod Yakhchal (an ancient ice house that kept ice all year long behind meters-thick walls!), the local caravanserai and the 300-year-old post house that replaced an ancient postal station dating back 2,500 years.

I realized I actually missed the most interesting of Meybod, like the stunning Pigeon House, after I saw this beautiful clip:

Don’t do what I did. After 7,000 years there’s gonna be a lot to see. Do your research ahead of time and take your time.

Here are my pics:

The 400-year-old Meybod Yakhchal (Ice house) – a remarkable feat of engineering.

Outside Meybod Caravanserai

Photo session at Meybod Caravanserai

The 1800-year-old city of Meybod, a former capital of Iran, as seen from Narin Castle.

The Narin Qal’eh (In Persian: نارین قلعه) or Narin Castle is a mud-brick fort or castle in the town of Meybod, Iran.

The 1800-year-old city of Meybod, a former capital of Iran, as seen from Narin Castle.

The 300-year-old Post House or Chapar-khaneh, formerly a station in the postal system used by Achaemenid Empire.

Shopping for ceramics in Meybod, Yazd Province, Iran

How Not to Visit a 7,000-Year-Old City Here's how NOT to visit a 7,000-year-old Iranian city: do your research beforehand, not after getting home.

#Meybod #Yazd Province

Ibrahim, 72, a shephard in the village of Kharaghan, north of Shahrud, Iran

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]brahim is a blue-eyed 72-year-old shepherd in the village of Kharaghan, aka Qaleno-e-xaraqān, north of Shahrud. He spends his days tending sheep and goats in the rocky plains just south of the famed Cloud Forest. Some of Iran’s greatest philosophers and Sufi masters walked these same plains through the centuries.

“I’ve been walking this field since I was 10 or 12. Seen everything you can imagine.

“Haven’t seen any wolves for three years now. Don’t know where they’ve gone to. Bears – there are plenty of them. In the spring, they come down from the mountains looking for food in the gardens. They steal and break things during the night but they’re smart enough to escape back to the mountains by early morning.

“When I saw you approaching, I was a bit apprehensive. Fifteen years ago a man just like you came up to me and asked for light for his cigarette. When I bent down to get my matches, he twisted by arm, slammed me to the ground and tied up my arms and eyes.

“Then his friend came and they threw me down to into a depression in the ground and asked, ‘Which shall we take – your life or your sheep?’ I said, “Do what a man does.” I prayed to Hazrate Abbas (Imam Hussein’s brother) and I eventually freed myself. But they had already taken off with 20 of the sheep, including a valuable ram.

“I dreamed all this in advance. A month earlier, I heard a man’s voice in my dream telling me to sacrifice the ram to Imam Zaman [the 12th Imam of Shia]. Then three days before the attack, I dreamed my hands were bound.

“The world has changed. When I was a kid, we never dreamed of having to defend our property. Now it’s a way life.

“My job is tough. Today the weather is good. Sometimes it’s so bad you have to stay out all night in the wet because impossible to find your way back home. My feet blister from walking into thorns and spines.

“But as hard as life can be, I when I sit down to eat, I thank God I’m eating what I earned through honest means.”

Ibrahim, 72, a shephard in the village of Kharaghan, north of Shahrud, Iran

In Their Own Words: Ibrahim the Shepherd Ibrahim is a blue-eyed 72-year-old shepherd in the village of Kharaghan, aka Qaleno-e-xaraqān, north of Shahrud. He spends his days tending sheep and goats in the rocky plains just south of the famed Cloud Forest.

#In Their Own Words #Shahrud area #Shepherds of Iran

The Anatomy of a Conservative Persian Home Visit The above image depicts the quintessential visit to a wealthy conservative Iranian home in Mashhad. The Purpose: the annual obligatory Nowrus (Persian new year's day) visit to Saeideh's eldest aunt on father's side.

At the Jome (JOE-meh) Bazaar, on Tehran’s Jomhouri Ave.

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]retty much anything on this planet can be found at Tehran’s Friday Bazaar, at half the price and in a million varieties – if you can stand the crowds.

The Jome Bazaar (JOE-meh, Persian for Friday) is inside a multi-story parking garage near the Embassy of the United Kingdom on Jomhouri and Ferdowsi Aves. It is packed with food, clothing, rugs, artwork and pretty much anything else in existence.

The prices are unbelievably low. The only problem is lack of oxygen because of the overcrowding – at least when we visited three days before Nowruz, the Persian new year’s day.

But if you can stand the crowds, it’s the place to find the lowest price.

The hawking spills outside into the crowded streets after dark. Nightgowns for equivalent of $10 USD. Gucci glasses (fake high copies) for $5.

Here’s a child hawking cloth for the equivalent of $2.50:

Shopping in and around Jome (JOE-meh) Bazaar, on Tehran’s Jomhouri Ave.

Ten-dollar Nightgowns & $5 Gucci Glasses Pretty much anything on this planet can be found at Tehran's Friday Bazaar, at half the price and in a million varieties - if you can stand the crowds.

#Shopping in Iran #Tehran

Tehran’s famed Naderi (NAW-deri) Cafe, established 1927, on Jomhouri Ave.

Naderi Cafe is a 90-year-old Tehran institution, hangout for artists, students, nostalgic elderly, as well as grumpy waiters. The style is 1950’s Paris. Photos of famed performance artists, writers and poets adore the walls. The cafe has appeared in countless novels and films. The overly sweet cappuccino and the thick hot chocolate provide the perfect relief from new year’s shopping on the congested Jomhouri Avenue.

Tehran’s famed Naderi (NAW-deri) Cafe, established 1927, on Jomhouri Ave.

Naderi Cafe Naderi Cafe is a 90-year-old Tehran institution, hangout for artists, students, nostalgic elderly, as well as grumpy waiters.

#Coffee in Iran #Food #Tehran

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

[dropcap]I [/dropcap]wasn’t prepared for the shocking views at Naqsh-e Rustam and I’m glad I wasn’t. I stood there, mouth open and oblivious to our tour’s guide’s explanations, starring at what must be the world’s most stunning graveyard.

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Persian kings were buried over many centuries, in tombs carved into the side of the rocky mountain and decorated with giant stone reliefs, dozens of meters above ground.

The scale is so huge, the tourists below appear like tiny ants.

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

The kings buried here include Darius I (c. 522-486 BCE), Xerxes I (c. 486-465 BCE), Artaxerxes I (c. 465-424 BC), and Darius II (c. 423-404 BC) respectively.

There is also Ka’ba-ye Zartosht (meaning the “Cube of Zoroaster”), a 5th century BCE Achaemenid square tower. The structure is a copy of a sister building at Pasargadae, the “Prison of Solomon”. No one is sure what it was used for; perhaps as a library of religious (Zoroastrian) texts.

Ka’ba-ye Zartosht (meaning the “Cube of Zoroaster”) at Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Ka’ba-ye Zartosht (meaning the “Cube of Zoroaster”) at Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Naqsh-e Rustam (Necropolis), near Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Ants in the World’s Most Stunning Graveyard I wasn't prepared for the shocking views at Naqsh-e Rustam and I'm glad I wasn't. I stood there, mouth open and oblivious to our tour's guide's explanations, starring at what must be the world's most stunning graveyard.

#Achaemenid Empire #Persepolis #Shiraz

Our tour group at Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

“[dropcap]N[/dropcap]ow you know why Iranians are so proud?” my wife told me after I visited Persepolis today. “This history is why they think they have everything and nobody else – the Americans, the Europeans, no one else – compares to them.”

I’m tempted to deduce just the opposite, that the contemporary Iranians – who don’t seem to be able to install a fully-functioning hotel toilet or consistently steer between traffic lanes – have nothing in common with the Aryans who began building Persepolis close to 2,500 years ago.

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

The technical prowess that went into nearly 200-year-long construction of Persepolis boggles the mind.

The slabs of rock – some weighing hundreds of tons – came from mountains 40 km away. How did they mine mountains 2,500 years ago? By sticking into the cracks slits of wood, then filling the wood with water, then waiting until the water froze and expanded to crack the rock.

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

All the reliefs cut by hand into the rock is so uniform throughout the 125,000 square meter site that it’s a certainty that it couldn’t be reproduced today using the latest machines.

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

These Persians were also the advocates of the kind of human rights that even today haven’t become universal.

Thirty thousand cuneiform tablets found underneath Persepolis say all the construction workers were paid a salary and were insured. The female workers enjoyed guaranteed maternity leave – a right the Republicans in the U.S. Congress still can’t bring themselves to support.

The more our tour guide Ehsan Dehghan explained today, the more moody I became. Eventually, I left the group behind and strolled alone, thinking about things like entropy. Could it be that we’re actually devolving?

I walked into the Persepolis museum and read the translation of a cuneiform tablet reporting the sayings of Xerxes.

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

He says he doesn’t let hearsay affect his judgment, not until evidence is presented in court.

“What things develop in my anger, I hold firmly under the control of my thinking power. I am firmly ruling over my own impulses,” he tells me from about 2,480 years ago.

This really got to me: “Know that the whispers you hear quietly are the most truthful.”

This priceless tablet, a gift from an age so technically and morally advanced we still don’t fully understand it, sits in a glass box originally designed for displaying clothes in a store, a museum guard explained.

“This entire museum, from the lighting to the ventilation, every single thing you see around you, is non-standard. That’s just the way it is.

“And don’t ask me why,” he barks before shuffling off.

Yeah, we’re devolving, and very quickly.

Persepolis, near Shiraz, Iran

Melancholy at Persepolis “Now you know why Iranians are so proud?” my wife told me after I visited Persepolis today.

#Achaemenid Empire #Iranian / Persian Historical sites #Persepolis #Shiraz

Vakil Historical Bath, Shiraz, Iran

[dropcap]V[/dropcap]akil Bath is an old public bath turned into a museum in Shiraz, an exquisitely restored window into a bygone era when public baths were more like social clubs for business and politics.

Vakil Historical Bath, Shiraz, Iran

Vakil Historical Public Bath Vakil Bath is an old public bath turned into a museum in Shiraz, an exquisitely restored window into a bygone era when public baths were more like social clubs for business and politics.

#Historical Baths #Shiraz

Mostafa Rahemi, Attari (Persian traditional medicine man) in Shiraz

[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ostafa Rahemi, 80, is an atari (traditional medicine man who heals using herbs and plants) and a former bodybuilder. His store, filled with pictures of the past, is the only one in this alley in the ancient Shiraz neighborhood of Ghashoo-Ghashe.

Rahemi (RAW-hemi) says:

“Seven-hundred years ago, back when the Mongols ruled, this neighborhood used to be filled with stables for donkeys and horses.

“Through the centuries, it became a prestigious neighborhood. This whole alley was filled with shops. All of them eventually sold out and moved on. I’m the only one left – I guess because I don’t have anything better to do.

“My kids are all live in Sweden. When the come back, they say, ‘Iran is like a matchbox. We feel constrained. Over there we get to stretch out.’

“The Iran of today is a warped dark version of what it used to be. It’s rotten from core. People learn to lie from their fathers and they from our leaders.

“Back then, the gold seller actually left his product right in the store window and went home. It would still be there when he returned in the morning. Can you believe that? People thought differently. They could not steal because it was fundamentally against their nature. Today [taking unlawfully] comes naturally.

“I walk with a stoop because seven years ago I tried to stop a thief robbing my home. He smashed my back and so today I walk like this.”

Mostafa Rahemi, Attari (Persian traditional medicine man) in Shiraz

The Last Medicine Man Mostafa Rahemi, 80, is an atari (traditional medicine man who heals using herbs and plants) and a former bodybuilder.

#Attari #In Their Own Words #Shiraz

Lavizan Forest Park, Tehran

[dropcap]L[/dropcap]avizān Forest Park is a large forested area in the Lavizān neighborhood in northeast Tehran, with stunning views of Tehran cityscape, which is, of course, usually shrouded in smog.

Lavizan Forest Park, Tehran

Lavizan Forest Park Lavizān Forest Park is a large forested area in the Lavizān neighborhood in northeast Tehran, with stunning views of Tehran cityscape, which is, of course, usually shrouded in smog.

#Parks #Tehran

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