Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Persepolis: Palace of Persia's King of Kings
h e sightseeing highlight of our time in Iran was Persepolis. Persepolis was
the dazzling ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire, back when it reached
from Greece to India. Built by Darius and his son Xerxes the Great around
500 B.C., this sprawling complex of royal palaces was—for nearly two hundred
years—the awe-inspiring home of the “King of Kings.” At the time, Persia
was so mighty, no fortii cations were needed. Still, 10,000 guards served at
the pleasure of the emperor. Persepolis, which evokes the majesty of Giza
or Luxor in Egypt, is (in my opinion) the greatest ancient site between the
Holy Land and India.
My main regret from traveling through Iran on my i rst visit, back in
1978, was not trekking south to Persepolis. And I wanted to include Perse-
polis in our TV show because it's a powerful reminder that the soul of Iran
is Persia, which predates the introduction of Islam by well over a thousand
years. Arriving at Persepolis, in the middle of a vast and arid plain, was thrill-
ing. h is is one of those rare places that comes with high expectations...and
actually exceeds them.
We got to Persepolis after a long day of driving—just in time for that
magic hour before the sun set. h e light was glorious, the stones glowed rosy,
and all the visitors seemed to be enjoying a special “sightseeing high.” I saw
more Western tourists visiting Persepolis than any other single sight in the
Persepolis is pharaoh-like in its scale. Emperors' tombs are cut into the neighboring
mountains.
