| Shiraz
is a beautiful city in southern Iran known for its gardens, the tombs of
famous poets and the nearby monuments of the early Persian empire. Indeed,
the road sign that welcomes visitors to the city proclaims Shiraz as the
country's center of culture. I don't know if that claim holds today but
it seems likely to have been so centuries ago. If fact the Pars people
of Fars Province in which Shiraz is located are the source for the terms
"Persia" (the name of the country for over 2400 years) and "Farsi" (the
common name of Persian, the most often spoken language). Reza Shah, who
took control of the government in a revolt in the early 20th century, changed
the name of the country in recognition of the differing peoples and cultures
that have swept through the area and populated Iran for millennia. "Iran"
recognizes the country's location on the Iranian Plateau, a region named
for the Aryan people who are the first known to have settled here. |
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We
visited the tomb of Hafez, a 13th century poet, in a beautiful open structure
surrounded by gardens bustling with activity as families touch and pray
over the tomb and then dine in a traditional tea house nearby. Hafez is
the most revered of Persian poets, a mystic regarded in an almost religious
manner today. His poetry is still frequently recited and the book of his
life's work is the most common volume in Iranian households next to the
holy book of Islam, the Koran. A common practice for those making decisions
is to open the book of Hafez at random to find the answer in whatever page
unfolds. The tomb and its surroundings celebrate beauty and life as families
play over the graves of other great Persians buried near the great poet.
At the tomb of Sa'adi, another great poet of the 13th century, the mausoleum
surrounded by gardens has a more somber feel, due in part to the small
interior space cut off from the activity outside. The differences reflect
the qualities of the poets; Sa'adi's writing added much to the culture
and language of Persia but without the mystic quality of Hafez' work. Poetry
on the tomb and surrounding panels are recited with a characteristic Persian
tone, almost monotone as though the words should speak for themselves without
anything added by the reader. I find the style hypnotic and will listen
to recitations without understanding the words or the meaning of the poem. |
| The tomb of
Hafez in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz. |
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On a hill above
Shiraz's center stands Biruni Observatory of the University of Shiraz.
Built in 1975, the 20-inch Cassegrain telescope was made by Astro Mechanics
of Austin, Texas and is the largest in use in Iran today. The students
of the Astronomy Department have long been engaged in an ambitious and
careful program of stellar photometry, specializing in eclipsing binary
stars. The observatory was one of the first in the Middle East, built during the
time of the Shah with the help of an American professor who was teaching
at Shiraz University. After the Revolution all universities in Iran were
closed for two years and the professor moved back to the US but the observatory
remains an important center for both student research and amateur activities
in southern Iran. There are many smaller observatories built by schools
and serious amateur groups in Iran and even plans for a national observatory
for professional research. Plans move slowly in a difficult economy but
the government is very interested in increasing funding for science facilities
that would not only educate Iran's youth but might attract foreign scientists
in larger numbers. |
| Biruni Observatory
of the University of Shiraz houses Iran’s largest telescope. |
|
Outside
Shiraz one finds the greatest monuments to the emergence of the Persian
empire. Pasardargard was founded by the first Persian king, Cyrus The Great,
as his capitol in the 6th century BC. His tomb is very simple in keeping
with his desire to remain one with his people rather than be too highly
exalted. Nearby, Persepolis -- a name given by the invading Greeks meaning
"City of the Persians" was a much larger capitol by Darius The Great beginning
in the 5th century BC and expanded by his descendants. It was burned by
Alexander the Great 150 years later but the gigantic stone columns and
much of the huge statuary remain, hinting at what must have been an incredible
site for royal subjects and emissaries of foreign lands. The city sits
on a high platform, the Gate of all Nations greeting approaching visitors
at the top of the Grand Staircase. Many palaces built by succeeding kings
are found in various forms of completeness. There is no other place that
one gets such a feel for the grandeur of Persia at the time of the Achemenians,
the founding dynasty of the empire that waxed and waned through the centuries. |
| Persepolis,
first capitol of the Persian empire. |
|
The
Persians would later have their revenge on the Macedonians as the Persian
empire spread to become the largest at the time, but the empire's fortunes
would inevitably turn. A more recent invasion of Persia also made its terrible
mark on Persepolis. The Arab invaders that brought Islam to the Iranian
Plateau to largely replace the native religion of Zoroastrianism defaced
the thousands of relief statues on the palace walls and staircases representing
the subjects of the king. The faces were broken off of human and animal
figures alike in objection to the use of graven images, a belief discarded
long ago. Visitors can still see the pristine faces of a few figures protected
by moving sand and dirt that buried them after the burning by Alexander's
troops in the 4th century BC, thus laying undetected by the Arab invaders
1000 years later. |
| Reliefs representing
visitors to the king on the stairway leading to Apadana Palace at Persepolis. |
|
Most
of the site was excavated in the early 20th century and digging and renovations
continue. Standing high on a hill overlooking the site from the tomb of
Xerxes, son of Cyrus I, the extraordinary view of the ancient palaces and
valley below is awe-inspiring. This must be how the last Pahlavi Shah of
Iran felt when he built the tents used in his extravagant celebration of
Persia's 2500 anniversary. Those tents are still visible just beyond the
ancient ruins but are tattered 25 years after the event that brought kings
and queens from around the world but failed to include the Persian people
in a celebration of their own country. Today's Islamic government gives
some attention to the ancient remains of Persia though not nearly enough
for the archaeologists who attend to it. But they have no regard for the
excesses of international ceremony that the Shah favored. |
| A man prays
over the tomb of Persian poet Sa'adi. |