Tchogha Zanbil

Tchoga Zanbil is a nice and interesting pyramid but in my taste not so wonderful. I guess it depends on the people, one of my friend found it memorable, one of the best place in Iran ; it's not my own opinion.

The real positive point for me is that is the only heritage of the Kingdom of Elam. What is rare is precious.

This site just looks like a big "ziggurat" (pile) of bricks more or less recently arranged. It is, but some of these bricks are carved of an ancient writing, probably restored.

To conclude, it's a very interesting place which deserves its inscription, but I make express reservations due to a kind of non-authentic place.

I visited Tchogha Zanbil (as well as the other nearby WHS) on a long day trip from Ahwaz, between two overnight bus trips. This is not a recommended way to see these sites, as you can find yourself at the whims of an unpleasant driver who decides to double the price of the trip halfway through.

While I showed this driver (the only one at the station willing to take the trip) my map showing a route of Ahwaz-Susa-Tchoga Zanbil-Shushtar-Ahwaz, he nevertheless insisted on going to the ziggurat first, expressly denying the existence of a clearly-marked road linking them east-west. This caused pointless doubling back, which he repeatedly passive-aggressively blamed on me.

Approaching the ziggurat, I was amused by signs prohibiting the use of firearms. This instruction seemed a lot less comical when I arrived at the site to find nobody else there, with what could only be the sound of automatic gunfire in the middle distance. Combined with what seemed to be angry yelling, the eeriness of this experience soured my visit, as I didn't feel super comfortable being there in such a situation. I'm sure in reality it was perfectly fine, and once back in the car I felt a bit silly for worrying, but I nevertheless couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling. As such, I didn't really do much more than a quick circumnavigation of the ruins, which is a shame.

I note that Tchogha Zanbil’s (TZ) only previous review on this site relates to a visit as far back as 1999! So, an update from our visit in Apr 2016 seems worth providing!

The 50kms drive from Susa along minor roads took around 50 minutes (Nb, if, as we were, you are trying to visit all 3 WHS on 1 trip it will take around another 45 minutes to drive the 45 kms on to Shushtar). This included a short stop to look at the ruins of Haft Tepeh which are situated around half way. This is another Elamite archaeological site of temples and a (probable?) ziggurat which pre-dates Tchogha, from a time when the Elamites were disunited - whereas TZ is the product of Elam at its pinnacle. The ruins are by the road side and can be quickly seen “for free” – if you are passing, it is certainly worth such a viewing, if only to add to your “Ziggurat count” (there are said to be only 35 in the World with 28 in Iraq and 5 in Iran – we also visited the ones at Susa and Sialk Tepe but missed the one at Jiroft!). The site has a small museum in a new building (Apparently the previous one was badly damaged during the Iran-Iraq war), which Lonely Planet says is “a good primer for Choqa Zanbil” - but we were short of time and gave it a miss. In fact, the building’s prime role is as …

Early one morning in May 1999 I arrived, by overnight bus from Shiraz, in Shush, the town in Southern Iran nearest to Tchoga Zanbil. There it was very easy to find a taxi driver prepared to take me the 40kms or so, through semi-desert though once fertile country, to this site (prices in Iran were very low at the time of my visit).

The heart of this site is an impressive pile, of mud brick construction, said to be the largest surviving ziggurat in the world. Now, more than 3000 years after it was built, having been sacked by the Assyrians in 640BC and having spent most of the time since then buried in the desert sands it stands about 25m high. It has, however, been calculated that it was once more than twice this height having lost 2 of its 5 storeys over the years.

Some visitors might feel that some of the restoration has been a bit over enthusiastic, with large areas of obviously new brickwork on the lower parts of the structure, a process which was being continued, at a fairly gentle pace, when I was there.

I was surprised to find that I was allowed to climb all over the Ziggurat which stands on a low plinth measuring 105m on each side. There are the remains of a number of other structures including a large surrounding wall and others which were once royal palaces. I was particularly impressed by a water supply and drainage system which …