persa police

Today was Paul's birthday.

Ever since he was 12 he has wanted to visit Persepolis in Iran.

He finally got his wish.

We hired a car and driver for the 70km drive to make the day easier. Our first stop was Naqsh-e Rustam about 12 kms away from Persepolis.

This is the site of the rock cut tombs of Darius I (c. 522–486 BC), Xerxes I (c. 486–465 BC), Artaxerxes I (c. 465–424 BC), and Darius II (c. 423–404 BC).





Nearby is Naqsh-e Rajab - a series of rock carvings of Sassanid era rulers from around the 2nd Century AD:





Then we hit the main site of Persepolis - the earliest part dates from 515 BC.

It is a huge and majestic site and there are enough ruins to give an idea of its scale and grandeur. We wandered at leisure for around three hours before heading back to Shiraz.

Paul was chuffed!























(*'persa police' - how the locals pronounced our name for the place. They call it Takht-e Jamshid.)