16.10.09 Shiraz / Persepolis

Left Shriaz early for the drive to Persepolis, which is 60 km outside town. Since this is a weekend, we saw a lot of Iranians, which had pitched their tents in parks and along the roads. These guys here pitch their tents in parks at night, and make a picnic out of it, I wish we could do this in India.
Persepolis, was a town, build by Cyrus the Great, in the year 500 BC. It is one of the best ancient historic, sights we have seen in Iran so far. Around 300 BC, Alexander the Great, popped in on his way to India, and flattened this whole town. The ruins have survived, because they were covered by sand for about 2000 years. The Shah of Iran, in 1971, had the worlds biggest party, adjacent to the ruins. He invited royalty and presidents from all over the world, and made and adjacent town of tents with marble toilets. The occasion was, Irans 2500 years celebrations. The local people say this was one of the last straw, which toppled the Shah. What a party it must have been. We walked around these magnificent ruins, in the blazing sunshine, and out of the blue, a group of Danish tourists pop up. They seemed pretty surprised when Daniel and I asked them in Danish, “if they have had a few beers in Iran”. Our 2 tour guides, wanted to walk around the whole ruins. So Daniel and I gave up, and went and talked to the security guards instead. Everybody here keeps chanting, ”hello, how are you”, and they become very friendly, when they hear we are from India. It seems that half the Iranian tourists, in Iran, have popped up here for the day. After the ruins, we sent Ulrikka for at camel ride, which was good fun for Ulrikka.
On the way back, we drove to the grave of Darius I. He is buried, in a cave in the mountains. Again Daniel and I gave up, and the 2 tour guides, carried on the walk. We sat down and spoke to a few taxi and bus drivers, which were very interested in our car. They just can not understand that we are driving a diesel car, and they keep requesting us to show them the engine. We must be the only diesel car in Iran. On the way back to Shiraz, a guy on a motorbike had an accident right in front of us. These guys here drive like nuts. I feel that they get out all their aggressions on the road.
We had late lunch at our favorite grill bar. In the evening, we went to a park, which had the tomb of Irans greatest poet. This is a beautifully laid out park, with fountains, trees, and flower gardens. We had a crappy Iranian dinner, at a fancy Iranian Restaurant. The lady Iranian manager, almost sat on my neck, trying to explain the menu to me. This could be why the food was not that good.


I dag stod vi tidligt op for at køre de ca. 60 km til Persepolis. På vej ud af byen så vi, både i parkerne og langs indfaldsvejen, en masse små iglo telte. Iranerne gør det åbenbart meget i både camping og picnic. Persepolis er en by fra år 500 BC, ca. 300 BC blev byen brændt ned af Alexander den Store, og består i dag kun af ruinerne af datidens storslåede bygningsværker. At der overhovedet er noget tilbage af ruinerne skyldes, at det i mange år var sandet til. Man kan dog godt fornemme hvor storslået der har været, med de mange høje søjler og relieffer indhugget i sten. Neden for Persepolis ligger skelettet af den telt by hvor Shahen i 1971 holdt fest i anledning af Persiens 2500 års fødselsdag. Han havde inviteret hele verdens statsoverhoveder og bygget telte med indbyggede marmorbadeværelser. Denne ekstravagance siges at have noget at skylden for, Shahens senere fald. Udenfor var Ulrikka på jordens korteste kamel ridetur, men vi fik taget rigtig mange billeder af det. I Persepolis spottede Michael og Daniel en flok danskere. Michael fik spurgt dem om de fik drukket noget øl, svaret til det var ”nej det er for lidt” på jysk. På vejen hjem gjorde vi et kort stop ved gravstederne for Darius I, m.fl. de 4 gravsteder er hugget ind i klippevæggen og igen rigt dekoreret med sten relieffer, et meget flot syn. Vi er en turist attraktion i sig selv, mange råber ”hello, how are you” til os, og mange spørger hvor vi kommer fra. Michael og Daniel er især populære, fordi de kommer fra Indien, rigtig mange iranere kan sige noget på hindi, der må åbenbart vises rigtig mange hindi film her. På vej hjem så vi en ung iraner som styrtede på sin knallert, men heldigvis så det ikke ud til, at han kom noget til. Igen var vi på vores lokale grill bar til frokost. Efter middagshvil, tog vi en taxi hen til en berømt digters gravplads - Hafez, et hyggeligt område hvor iranerne samles. På vej hjemad fandt vi en restaurant og fik aftensmad, og senere spillede vi igen kanasta, hvor de gode vandt på retfærdig vis.