by L. A. Kell

Created on: February 28, 2009   Last Updated: March 01, 2009

I am not one who believes that a country's politics should turn you off to some of the world's most interesting, beautiful, historical and religiously significant destinations. One of these destinations is Iran. This is the land of the Persian Empire that we all learned about in History class. Politics aside, Iran's history and culture is steeped in tradition and many sites are sacred for these reasons. If you ever have the chance to visit, I would suggest the following:

Visit the Ruins of Persepolis, a city founded around 518 B.C. and was made the capital of the Persian Empire and was plundered by Alexander the Great. The ruins have a number of colossal buildings made of a dark grey stone from the surrounding mountains that still stand. What is amazing is the stones were cut so precise that they are still standing without any mortar some two thousand years later. There are 13 magnificent columns that still stand in Darius the Great's audience hall and 2 which stand at the entrance hall of the Gate of Xerxes.

Yazd is the center for the Zoroastrian religion and the Atashkadeh is where a sacred fire has been burning for over 1500 years. While in Yazd, visit the Mashed-e-Jameh Mosque has the highest minarets in Iran.

The Emam Reza Shrine Complex in Mashad is the resting place of the 8th grandson of the Mohammed and considered one of the greatest architectural wonders of the Islamic world.

Although not traditionally considered sacred (but it should be) is the Beheshtieh Cemetery in Tehran. This Jewish Cemetery built in 1933 is the resting place of 60 Holocaust survivors and was used as a temporary refugee camp. Many feared for their lives after the State of Israel declared independence and many Iranian and Iraqi Jews waited here while trying to immigrate to Israel. While there is over 2500 years of Jewish history in Iran, there are a few remaining Jewish cemeteries and the biblical prophet Daniel is buried in Susa (whose tomb is visited by both Jews and Muslims).

A visit to Qum (the second most sacred city in Iran, behind Mashad) one must see the sanctuary of Fatima Al-Masumeh. This shrine was plundered in 1221 by the Mongols and was restored in 19th century by Fath Ali Sha with its golden dome. Ruins of a fire temple near the shrine complex shows this area has been inhabited before Islamic times.

This is just a sample of some of the most revered and wonderful sites in what is now, modern-day Iran. It is my sincerest hope that one day all people will be able to visit this exciting land of Ancient Persia and see what this amazing part of the world has to offer.

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