Susa

Susa (Shush) isn't exactly the hottest place to stay overnight even if the guest house was just across from the museum and the restaurant around the corner made delicious food. It was getting late so the timing to visit the museum and archeological site was perfect. Surprisingly the place was open on a Friday with her Castle within not open and not on my list to visit anyhow. The staff were also super friendly, trying to sell me some books etc of course, the postcard collection for all WHS in Iran is interesting and some excellent shots but I don't collect these things and we all know they will miss some sites as early as 2019.

The entrance is a little higher than usual because you get the museum at the same time. The museum was quite poor, containing items from other sites unrelated to the archeological site and even total rubbish like antique pistols. The main attraction is the large bull head at the entrance that once posed on a large pillar or something. You get to see a couple more broken pieces in the field. So making my way over there I quickly realized there isn't going to be much to see but low wall outlines where a large palace used to stand. The Apadana Castle must have been grand at one point but now it overgrown with weeds. The path extends far to a lookout where some locals were picnicking even before sunset. You get a …

Susa is one of those Archaeological sites whose fame and significance outweigh what is actually “on show”. It was, as Wiki says, “an ancient city of the Proto-Elamite, Elamite, First Persian Empire (ie Achaemenid), Seleucid, and Parthian empires of Iran, and one of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East.” The normal visitor however is going to concentrate on the Elamite and Achaemenid remains - plus a number of aspects relating to its 20th C role in the history of Archaeology!

During our “3 WHS” afternoon (Susa, Chogha and Shushtar) we gave it just under 2 hours. You will face the usual Iranian “multiple ticket” aspect – in this case 150k IR for the site (c US$4), 100k for the museum and another 100k for the “Fort”. We didn’t bother with the nearby separate location of “Ardeshir’s Palace” – the ruins of a structure built by Ataxerxes II to serve his needs whilst he was having the Adapana repaired after it had been destroyed in a fire, it contains the scant remains of a large columned hall but, from the underwhelming photos in the Nomination file, we decided to skip it in favour of more time at the main site.

We started and finished with the Museum which is situated at the main entrance. Some of its articles are copies of originals taken from Susa and now in the Louvre e.g various glazed panels such as the Winged Bull, but there are enough original items on show to …

Susa is not as spectacular as Persepolis but still has a lot to offer for tourists and archaeologists. The city is easy to reach from everywhere in western Iran and can be combined with a trip to Chogha Zabil and Shushtar. Being there, do be in a hurry, just let your imagination recreate the pre-Iranic civilizations of Elam.

Susa had been one of the most important cities of our world for thousands of years, and its a big shame that it is so ignored in our time. It is without any doubt one of the wonders of the world, and a great heritage from human's past, and in our modern world, and the age of communication, it is being ignored. Yes, I have visited this site, it is amazing, and there is still so much history left there to uncover. As an Iranian and a member of global village I look forward that this site is introduced to the world by UNESCO as world heritage site...