Asia

[Visited: May 2001]

Not far from the famed city of Persepolis, are the four tombs of ancient Persian kings. Although this is still open to debate and speculation, the tombs seem to be those of Darius I and II, Xerxes I and Artaxerxes. From a distance they look like four huge crosses in the cliff in which they are carved out, but closer by you see that the tombs have actually been created in the "wall" of the crosses.
Under the tombs, at eye level, many more recent reliefs are to be found. Several scenes, mostly from wars fought many centuries ago, these depict men, horses, other animals and also ancient scripts like Elamite. The tombs themselves are, unfortunately, not accessible to the public anymore. While walking at the feet of these enormous carvings, I felt truly dwarfed by their size.
Then there is a tower-like construction which was used either as a fire-temple or a house of prayers in ancient times. Walking further to the edge of the cliffs, there are more reliefs in the rocks, depicting amongst others the Roman emperor Valeriano and a Persian king. On top of the hill, there is a column where fires were lit to communicate with Persepolis. If anything, walking around this area gave me an overwhelming sensation of history.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Naghsh-e Rostam (Iran). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Naghsh-e Rostam.
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