- Mashhad, My First Destination in Exotic Iran
- Riding The Night Train From Mashhad to Yazd in Iran
- Exploring The Desert Town of Yazd
- Day Trip to Kharanaq, Chak Chak, And Meybod
- Mosques And Bazaars of Shiraz
- Persepolis And The Tombs of Naqsh-e Rustam
- Exploring The Ancient Castles and Temples of Firuzabad, Iran
- Isfahan, The Most Beautiful City I Visited in Iran
- Desert Oasis Town of Kashan
- Ancient Town of Abyaneh, And Beautiful Fin Garden
- Tehran, My Last Stop in Iran
- In Review: 24 Days of Backpacking in Iran
I was really looking forward to visit Persepolis, a place with so much history, and the center of the once mighty Persian Empire.
It is about a 1-hour drive from Shiraz so I, along with an older Chinese couple, hired a taxi to take us there. On the way we stopped at the nearby Naqsh-e Rustam. This is a necropolis believed to once have contained the tombs of Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I, and Xerxes I. The tombs look very impressive high up on the side of a big cliff. Standing there, I couldn’t help but feel a connection with ancient history.
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We only had two hours to explore Persepolis, which was barely enough time. Entrance fee was 200,00o rials (6 USD, the same as for Naqsh-e Rustam). Since they closed at 7pm it’s impossible to be there during sunset, which was at 8:30pm. The whole city of Persepolis was destroyed in a fire in the 3rd century BC, so not much of it is left. Still, there are many interesting things to see, including very beautiful wall carvings.
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Up on a hill and behind the complex of Persepolis are two tombs very similar to the ones in Naqsh-e Rustam. They are believed to be the tombs of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III. You can reach them after a short climb through dirt paths, although you can’t go inside them.
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I went to Persepolis knowing that not much of it was left after the fire that destroyed it. With my lowered expectations, I ended up having a great time there.