Day 1: Persepolis
Today, I woke up eager to get to my first destination, Persepolis. Persepolis was founded by Darius the Great in 518 B.C. It was built to be the capital of the Persian Empire and is located in Shiraz. This grand city took over a century to make. It was visualized as a show place. This means that it was a center for receptions and ceremonial festivities. The life of Persepolis was only two centuries long, for in 331 B.C. Alexander the Great looted and burned it to the ground. Now, only the pillars that held the roof up remain along with some of the artwork. It was said that Alexander carried away all of the treasures on 20,000 mules and 5,000 camels. While I was walking about the ruins of Persepolis, it was interesting how well some of the artwork had stayed in tact over the centuries.
Day 2: Tomb of Hafez
Since I felt like going to see some tombs, today I went to the tomb of Hafez. Hafez was a very famous poet and still is today for people who love Persian poetry. He was educated by some of the leading scholars in Shiraz, his hometown. People say that he really loved his hometown. In fact, he loved his hometown so much, that he refused generous invitations inside and outside of Iran. When I looked at his marble tombstone, I saw that some of his poems were engraved there. I also saw that the creators of his tomb put in gardens and pools to make the environment more peaceful. In 1935, eight stone columns were put around his tombstone in the shape of an octagon. It was interesting to visit his tomb, because the gardens had many exotic plants and I was able to sit around the pools, drink tea, and reflect on his poetry.
Day 3: Tomb of Saadi
After I had been to the tomb of Hafez, I was in the mood to go to another tomb that belonged to a poet. I chose the tomb of Saadi. Like Hafez, Saadi was another famous Iranian poet. When he was just a child, his father died. When he grew up and finished college, he traveled through India and central Asia. While he was traveling, he got captured and was made to labor on a stronghold in Tripoli. Throughout his life, he had two principle works. One of them expressed Muslim virtues while the other was about his travels. His tomb was built in the shape of an octagon. His tomb is unique for a couple of reasons. A pool was made for people to throw coins in to make wishes and all the walls of his tombs were inscribed with his work. It was interesting to see how long or how short his poems were and what they meant.
Day 4: Tomb of Ferdosi
Having learned all of this information on poets and their tombs, I wondered what a writer's tomb would be like, so I went to the tomb of Ferdosi. Ferdosi was born in 940 A.D. near a town called Toos. His greatest work was the ShahNameh or Book of Kings. The Book of Kings was basically about the history of Iran. It took him more than twenty- five years to write it. I found out that the original brick structure of his tomb had been ruined and parts of the tomb were rebuilt in 1926. The construction on his tomb stopped in 1934 during the1000 year anniversary of his death. People say that the tomb lies over his exact place of death. It was interesting to me to see his style of writing.
Day 5: Sio-Seh Pole Bridge
After viewing three tombs, I had a yearning to see a famous bridge, so I went to the Sio-Seh Pole Bridge or the bridge of thirty-three arches. It was originally called the Allahverdikhan Pole after the architect who built it. This famous bridge was built in 1600. It was made so that it would be 300 meters long. This bridge was made as a kind of lovers point. This means that men and women would dress nicely to meet each other on this bridge and take a walk. Today it is still used for these purposes and it is also a major tourist attraction. I found it interesting to walk across this bridge, because I could see and touch the arches. The arches are also supposed to light up at night which gives the bridge an eye-catching glow.
Day 6: Naghshe Jahan Square
Today I went to Naghshe Jahan Square. Naghshe Jahan Square is one of the biggest, most beautiful squares in the world. It is 512 meters long and 160 meters wide, which actually makes it a rectangle. It was constructed in the sixteenth century to express Isfahan's majesty. It was made during the reign of shah Abbas. Like most other monuments in Isfahan, the main color and material of the square is blue tiles. I heard that if you want to see the whole square, it would take a few days since it is so big. It used to be much smaller than it is today, because now there are new buildings and more room. It was interesting to roam around the square and to go to the museum.
