Shiraz
Iran
May 15, 2022
Hello,
“Jan, you are a hunter!”
So spoke Majdi, my guide in Iran.
Hadji observes that Jan “hunts” for an opportunity to take a special landscape photograph. He is impressed as I comfortably engage with strangers and then easily pose with them.
I am never conscious of being a hunter.
Am I enterprising or patient or lucky?
On a lakeside in the mountains, it is just my luck that someone left the radio playing in his parked car.
Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by southern Zagros mountains of Iran. Modern day Shiraz is situated 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of the ruins of Persepolis.
The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.
Shiraz
(1500m 4900 ft)
(Pop 1,800.000)
Fars Province
Iran
May 12. 2022
On our first day In Shiraz, our group visited three important sites.
THE TOMB OF HAFEZ IS in a peaceful, garden setting that drips with an ambience of poetry and romance. The 14th-century writer is considered the Shakespeare of Iran, one of the greatest Persian poets of all time, and a source of national pride.
Hafez’s collected works, the Divān, is regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature. Most every home in the country contains this book, and it is regularly read and consulted for guidance and inspiration. The poet is revered as a folk hero to this day, and people congregate at his tomb, especially at sunset, to pay their respects.
Shushtar
Ancient Fortress City Pop: 102,000
Shushtar County
Khuzestan Province
Iran
May 8, 2022
Prologue
Roberta, Sergio and I are scheduled for a day trip to the nearby city of Shush. I decide to remain alone at the hotel and enjoy the sunny courtyard for a much-needed "time out."
Nearby, a young girl who has been pouring over a pile of books approaches me and initiates a conversation. After a series of questions and answers (She questions. I answer.), Ala tells me her story:
