Pasargadae

Site visited December 2015. Although this first capital of Achaemenid Empire may feel dull and empty compared to Persepolis, it is still an interesting place to visit.

Getting to Pasargadae by public transport may be tricky. I guess the only way is to take a bus (probably with a bus change in Marvdasht) from Shiraz to Saadat Shahr and try to get a taxi from there. The easiest way is to hire a taxi all the way from Shiraz. It should also be reasonably priced. Fortunately I had arranged a relative of my colleague to be my chauffeur on my day trip to Persepolis and Pasargadae from Shiraz. After visiting Persepolis we stopped by Naqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab TWHS. By the way, I found this site quite impressive and maybe worth of inscription. After that we headed towards Pasargadae which is an hour’s drive from Persepolis. It was already late afternoon when we arrived to the gates of Pasargadae. I spent about an hour and a half at the site and we left at the time of sunset.

Generally speaking there are not that much to see in Pasargadae and the site looks empty. Basically the site consists of seven structures that are scattered around the area of 1,6 hectares. The structures are both modest and low-key, not very well preserved. The distances inside the core zone are so big that it would require a lot of walking if you don't have a car. For that reason …

Although the site doesn’t look like it covers much more than Cyrus “the Virus” oops not the baddie of Con Air, Cyrus the Great (one day coming to a theater near you also starring John Malkovich), the short path from the entrance which is now being nicely paved will lead you to a tomb of the once former king. It isn't all too spectacular, it wasn't even busy in January although Persepolis was still pretty packed. Once I circled around the tomb and made my way back from the adjacent ruins of the caravanserai (not currently part of the tentative site of caravanserai along the silk road), I noticed the shuttle e-cars with a booth. Was there more to see further down towards the mountains? So I go online, check the review here on the site and Google map to see the Solomon's Prison among others far in the distance. I didn't care if the shuttle costs money but it sounds like a bit of a waste of time. If you want to fully explore the site I suppose you should go and see those places too. 600 seems like a lot for “just” the tomb but it is the highlight. I was happy to be on my way again after a long day of sightseeing.

Before investigating this WHS in advance of our trip in Apr 2016, I had always assumed that it consisted solely of the Tomb of Cyrus – that famous “profile” consisting of a 6 stepped ziggurat topped by a rectangular gabled chamber (making it the World’s oldest “base isolated” structure according to Wiki). As such, it could surely be fitted in easily on a 1 day return outing from Shiraz together with Persepolis AND Naqsh-e Rustam? In fact the site extends to 160ha (the inscribed area of Perspolis is only 13ha) and we spent 2 hrs there, not getting back to Shiraz until 19.30 (having departed at 8.20). If you are going to do a similar day trip make sure you leave some time for Pasargadae - unless you only want a quick “turn” around the Tomb!

As you draw up to the ticket office (Entry for foreigners - 200k rials) the entry sign is accompanied by an enormous propaganda notice board proclaiming, first in English and then in Farsi, the words of Khomeini “The whole World should know that all of the problems of the Iranian nation and other nations are caused by the foreigners: by America. The Muslim nations hate the foreigners in general and America in particular”. Even our driver/guide was a little embarrassed by this since it seemed so out-of-line both with the welcome we (as “foreigners”!!) had received from every Iranian we had met and also with the general direction of Iran’s international …

On our way from Shiraz to Istfahan, we stopped at the tomb of Cyrus in Parsagad. there were some bas reliefs of a guy in a fish suit and a few other minor things, the city Cyrus built there was mostly made of wood, and that all rotted away ages ago. But the tomb itself was made of stone, and because the locals claimed that it was the tomb of Solomon's mother, it had survived the vandals. I noticed that someone had left a bouquet of flowers on the stairs leading up to the entrance in tribute.

I was touched.

Iran has many beautiful names and often places all reminiscent of past grandeurs, Pasargadae being one of them. This is a city whose influence and historical signifcance was on a par if not rivalled that of Persepolis. Today it is very different though.

With the best of intents we tried to imagine what was once there using the (well done!) signs and drawings at each site, but it was tough and beyond what we were creatively capable of. Yes, it was a dissapointment after the many hours it took us to get here. Fortunately Iran has countless other historical, natural and religious sites no to mention the local hospitality that made us rapidly forget our visit.