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Persepolis, Naqsh-e Rostam, Naqsh-e Rajab and Pasargadae

 

 

Even the names of these two great wonders of the Persian antique world can cause a chill.
Persepolis was built by Darius the Great in 520BC with architects from the whole empire to awe visitors.
Naqsh-e Rostam is even more impressive, with the rock-hewn tombs of Darius II, Artaxerxes I, Darius I and Xerxes I.
Naqsh-e Rajab is a small monument consisting in rock carvings that is almost hidden from the road.
As for Pasargadae, another awe inspiring monument that is almost flattened, I found it the less impressive.

More generally, I was a little disappointed by these famous monuments. One thing was the fact that they are almost flattened and not much is standing erect, compared to Greek (Acropolis), Lebanese (Baalbeck), Sicilian (Segesta, Juno temple) monuments, and in another space and time, Angkor Wat in Cambodia or Bagan in Myanmar. The other thing is the Iranian way of building the infrastructure of the sites, which I thought was not at the level of the surrounding magnificence.