Photographs from Iran
If you visit the legendary site of Persepolis in Iran you better take some sun screen. Dry desert heat will beat down on you for the day. But, the end result is seeing ancient wonders like these columns that are thousands of years old.
Towers of Silence are the name given to raised structures used by Zoroastrians for exposing their dead to the elements. In this case, the sun and birds.
Here just outside of Yazd in Iran in one of two ancient Zoroastrian towers of silence. No longer used, you can climb up and inside the tower.
Inside the tower there is pit, where a body would be laid to rest. The sun would aid in its decomposing. At the same time birds would come down and eat away on the body.
A local told be when this ritual was being preformed, it wasn’t unheard of to have the odd human bone drop from the sky!
Built in 1465 A.D and flattened to a crumbling heap during an earthquake in 1779. It took until 1973 before restoration finally began on this.
The mosque was built by Jahan Shah the ruler of Kara Koyunlu dynasty which controlled Persia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Tabriz would become the capital of his Kingdom.
If you visit the mosque today, you will see great chunks of broken stone, tile and wall. But they are not scattered. Each one is numbered, and each one has been painstakingly sketched.
Visiting the blue mosque may not wow, you with it’s size nor beauty. But chanced are you will come across many people at work restoring this mosque. From, painters, to masons all the way to sculptures. That in itself is worth the visit.
Above the huge great staircase in ancient Persepolis is the propylon (above). The ruins of Persepolis still stand today in magnificent splendor in Iran.
What’s more, Persepolis is one of the few places in the world you can wander around and enjoy retracing the steps of Alexander the Great, Darius and other formidable legends of the past.
Iran is famous for it’s ceramics. This includes bright colorful Persian tiles that feature a unique design of spirals and flowers along with angular shapes.
Imam square or Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan (Esfahan) ran. Noted for it’s extreme beauty this is a great place to come at night to see local Iranians taking quite walks in the square.
A peaceful and tranquil place that’s also surrounded by some great places to eat!