The Silk Road: Overheating in Persepolis

After tucking into some breakfast (Roti wraps with tomato, cucumber and cream cheese) we went for a look around Shiraz. Once again the people very incredibly welcoming. They would shake hands with us and ask us where we are from.  It is amazing the number of people who know about ‘Nuuseeland’.  They say that NZ is very beautiful and seem to know a bit about it.  Iran is not as detached from the rest of the world it may seem.

First stop was the Citadel of Karim Khani, the main residential palace of Karim Khan-e-Zand and his dynasty in Shiraz. Surrounded by high brick walls, there are four towers, each at a corner of the complex. This place was used as a prison for thirty five years until 1971.

It is the middle of the Ramadan in Iran which means there is a fast from 7am to 7pm.  This is miiiserable when it is 37C and you are walking around all day.  It also means that prayers take on more significance and at about 130pm traffic in the city grinds to a halt as people rush to the midday session.

During this rush we witnessed our first Iranian scrap. A man zoomed off on a scooter with two women on board.  Another man chased the scooter and pulled the man off.  They proceeded to have public stouch involving a number of misplaced hay-makers.  Sam Bisset could do well opening a boxing gym in Shiraz.   Eventually an old man got between them and broke it up.

We visited the the Shah Cheragh, a shrine that dates back about 700 years. It has an expansive courtyard which is a great place to watch the moving climax to what is an important religious rite for Shiites. Although we were not allowed inside the shrine, we could still peer in and see the multicoloured reflections from the countless minute mirror tiles. 

 

The detail and symmetry of designs is simply stunning wherever you go in Iran. Islam dictates that it is improper to depict the human form or face so they have perfected the use of patterns and designs.While chatting to some locals we met the architect in charge of refurbishing the shrine.  We were given a behind the scenes tour meeting the people carving the ceramic tiles, cutting the mirrors and sculpting the marble.

An example of the finished product.

 

We then visited the graves of two famous Iranian poets Hafez and Sa’di. Hafez is the most famous poet in Persia whose works are in every Iranian house and are memorized to heart. These tombs are famous for their expansive gardens although it is only the contrast with the desert beyond that makes them so appealing. Our guide mentioned that young couples (who are not meant to meet in public) come to these sites to ‘have picnics’.   

 

 My ankle was playing up and swollen to the size of an orange so we had to head home to rest for the remainder of the day.  It is very hard to do a whole day in the heat and we have taken to going home for a siesta each day.

Accessing Facebook/stuff.co.nz and other vital websites like premierleague.com was problematic at first but having a computer guy with me came in useful and we quickly bypassed the block.

Off to bed now as I have had 11 hours sleep in last 60 hours.

12/08/2011

12 hours later we arose early for our tour of Persepolis and Necropolis.  We were joined on the tour by 2 aussies, an Austrian and a Japanese women.  The aussies were midway through their year long honeymoon and had arrived in Iran after 4 months in Africa!

Persepolis is a 2500 year old capital of the Achaemenid Empire.  A series of Kings added to it over 150 years and it is still in remarkably good condition. The funniest thing I heard all day was that Xerses II had a secret passage built from his residence (pic below) to where the women slept.  The guide said that not all men are so lucky.  The Austrian guy commented on how expensive it would be to have so many women.

It was incredibly warm at 40C and there was no shelter.  Water was carefully rationed…

At the nearby Necropolis we decided to get boozed so tucked into some 0.0% beer.  Alcohol is rare in Iran.

Shattered from the last two days and in preparation for an overnight bus journey to Yazd we took a quick afternoon siesta which ended up lasting the best part of 5 hours.  After some dinner and Shesha it was time to jump on the bus to Yazd.

Tomorrow we will explore the desert city of Yazd.  Famous for creating the first airconditioning systems