quickly becomes a firm favourite,
along with ghormeh sabzi (lamb
stew with herbs and dried limes)
and sangak (flat bread baked over
pebbles). In Shiraz, faloodeh sorbet,
made with vermicelli, rosewater and a
squeeze of lime, provides a sweet and
refreshing end to almost every meal.
Shiraz is also the gateway
to Persepolis, the magnificent
palace complex founded by the
Achaemenian king Darius the Great
in 518 BC and sacked nearly 200
years later by Alexander the Great’s
army. Backed by a small mountain
with royal tombs carved into the
rock, the 34-acre site is scattered
with stone columns and towering
sculptures of mythical creatures.
Well-preserved friezes depict
hundreds of foreign visitors, clad
in native dress, bearing gifts for the
Persian rulers.
As I walk through the main gateway
guarded by winged bulls with the
heads of bearded men, I relish the
READER’S DIGESTAUGUST 2019 • 89chance to explore quiet corners of
the ruined city. At the edge of the
site stands a rusty grandstand, built
for the last Shah of Iran’s infamous
1971 party where hundreds of
international guests celebrated 2,500
years of the Persian monarchy in
extravagant style. The party came
to symbolise the excess of the pro-
Western Shah and set in motion his
downfall less than a decade later.
An Iranian family stops me to ask
the inevitable questions—“Where
are you from?”, “What do you think
of Iran?”—and I mention a BBC
documentary I watched about the
party at Persepolis. “Ah, I remember
the days before the revolution,” the
middle-aged mother says wistfully.
“We wore mini-skirts, drank wine
and danced to pop music.” Then,
with a conspiratorial wink, she adds,
“Just like we do now—but behind
closed doors.”
By now, I expect nothing less in
this unfathomable land. nPersepolis, founded in
518BC, near Shiraz