UPDATED to add photos: Irreplaceable Beautiful &/or Historically Important Sites in Iran at Risk

[snot]

Iran happens to be the home of some of the most gorgeous and/or ancient and historically important sites in the world.

If we contribute to the destruction or damage of any of these sites, we're no better than the conquistadores who not only murdered, raped, and pillaged their way through Incan, Mayan, Aztec and other indigenous peoples but also, willfully and stupidly, erased the scientific and cultural achievements of those civilizations.

Here's a map showing some of the important sites in Iran:


A few examples:


Persepolis was the ancient capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid era. Founded by Darius I around 515BC, the city stood as a magnificent monument to the vast power of Persian kings until it was conquered by Alexander the Great.


Shah Mosque, Isfahan:


Inside:



Bam Citadel, the largest adobe structure in the world, can be traced back to at least the Achaemenid Empire (sixth to fourth centuries BC).


More views:





Seyed Roknuddin Dome surrounded by "windcatchers," blocky structures with tall, narrow vents that drew cooling air down into the building below:





Kandovan Village in North-West Iran is an historic cave-settlement that may date back as far as the 7th century.



Shah Cheragh, Shiraz, the "King of Light":



Inside:



Ardashir Babakan Palace was built in 224 CE by Ardashir I, the founder of the Sassanian Empire.



Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque:


More views of Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque (there are lots of photos online of the exteriors and interiors of many of the other important sites in Iran, including those above):







Many more sites are shown at:

https://www.thediaryofanomad.com/most-beautiful-places-in-iran-itinerary/
https://kalouttour.com/mesmerizing-mosque-ceilings-that-highlight-the-wonders-of-islamic-architecture/
https://iranstravel.com/top-tourist-attractions-in-iran/
https://theplanetd.com/iran-travel-historic-places/
https://orienttrips.com/mag/iran-architectural-wonders/

[CozyMystery]

1. Thank you!

The photos are absolutely beautiful, breath taking!

[snot]

6. Thank you!

I'm afraid I spent longer than I should putting that together, but I couldn't resist – so many amazing sites!

I'd hoped to visit Iran, but given recent developments, that probably won't be possible in my lifetime.

[moonscape]

2. Stunning!

[markie]

3. these

are spectacular

[lamp_shade]

4. I'm in awe of their beauty. Thank you so much.

[ananda]

5. I've always thought that Persia's main energy is beauty.

Iranians are very beautiful physically,
and they are great creators of beauty
as well.

Their poetry, for example, is just wonderful.

[snot]

9. Well, I can't dispute the brilliance of their artistry,

but I believe the Persians also played a huge role in the development of mathematics (didn't they invent the zero, or something like that?) It certainly shows in their brilliant engineering.

While searching for images of sites in Iran, I also came across this ancient Persian facility for making ice in the desert:

[dsc]

13. India invented zero

but it was brought to us by Arabic and Persian traders.

[snot]

17. Thank you!

I should have looked it up.

[Lonestarblue]

30. A Persian mathematician created algebra and a way to solve linear and quadratic equations in the early 800s.

[purr-rat beauty]

7. Israel loves blasting this shit

Make no mistake....these are certainly targets

[UTUSN]

8. K&R for, gorgeous

[dalton99a]

10. Netanyahu already has them marked for destruction.

He will blow them up. Because he can.

[OGBuzz]

11. Iran and Iraq are the cradle of human civilization.

[wnylib]

34. Well, Iraq is the cradle of civilization for that region.

There were other regions of the world which developed civilizations independently in their regions. Some were ss old or older than Fertile Crescent civilizations .

But it is true that hmluman history goes back a very long time there.

[slightlv]

12. trump, miller, all his minions...

and including bush, cheney, and the oil conglomerates are not going to be happy until they are able to use OUR soldiers to completely obliterate the Middle East and surrounding countries.

We may not agree with how they perceive their religion; we already acknowledge they have been ruled by autocrats, monarchs, and warlords for centuries. This makes it so much harder to achieve social change... it's inbred so deeply. But what we in the West have been trying to do is to completely eliminate all the knowledge and beauty of the area. Bomb it back to smithereens so all we see is a Mars-scape of destruction. We all will be so much poorer for this... and that's not to even touch on the tragic evil visited upon the people.

I've all but shut down with this latest blow from trump. He's got us already in Ecuador... we're still "doing" Venezuela... and now he's uttering Cuba next... and he has the audacity to want the Peace Prize! The evil has overwhelmed me. All I want to say to the world is "I'm so sorry... honestly, we didn't do this. The election was stolen from us and no one could (or would) help get us out of the mess."

[RainCaster]

14. Don't show these to the Couch Fucker!

Hogs Breath will have to destroy them "just because". There will be no clear reason for anything he's done. We need to have a record of all his crimes, along with all of TSF's other cronies. Eventually we will be able to prosecute those assholes

[sinkingfeeling]

15. Does anybody think TSF or Hegseth would give a damn if all was destroyed? They've got hardons for war and death.

[snot]

19. A phrase in that vein that came to mind recently was

"death cult."

[Lonestarblue]

31. I doubt either knows they exist because they are historically ignorant.

If they did, they would order them bombed deliberately to destroy such beauty out of vengeance. Both are evil people.

[PatSeg]

16. Amazing photos

Thanks!

[Takket]

18. I'm sure Kegseth will be every bit as concerned with protecting those sites

As he is with protecting human life.

[CareyOn]

20. Thank you for taking the time

to put this together. I just shared the photographs with my grandkids.

[DET]

21. Just Gorgeous!

I would love to visit there, but I know it will never happen..

I’m sure the Donald will treat these precious treasures with the same respect and dignity he showed to the Bonwit Teller building.

[spanone]

22. K&R

[malaise]

23. Eff these monsters

That is all

[ZDU]

24. Breathtakingly beautiful...

Thank you!

[lindalou65]

25. Stunningly beautiful and irreplaceable history

Thank you for posting this. I fear some or many of these beautiful sites will be destroyed and they can never be replaced. It just makes me sick.

[spike jones]

26. If you have ever tripped on mushrooms, you know where those patterns came from.

[debsy]

27. Beautiful structures...

Built by the common man (likely unpaid slaves) and claimed by the wealthy of the era. Speaking of patterns (shout out to Hillary), this is repeated throughout the history of humanity.

[UpInArms]

28. Iraq: ancient Babylon archaeological site damaged by military activity

The ancient site of Babylon – home to the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – has been significantly damaged due to its use as a military base by coalition forces in Iraq from 2003-2004, according to a report released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today.

Digging, cutting scraping and leveling resulted in considerable damage to the archaeological city, with the Ishtar Gate, the Processional Way and other key structures also being harmed, the Final Report by UNESCO’s International Coordination Committee for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Iraq (ICC Iraq) said.

“Without pointing fingers, we now have a clear picture of the situation,” said Mohamed Djelid, director of UNESCO’s Office for Iraq.

The report, launched at a press conference in Paris, “provides the starting-point for the major challenge of restoration and conservation,” he added.

Babylon was the capital city for two famous kings of antiquity: Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), who introduced one of the world’s first law codes, and Nebuchadnezzar (604-562 BC).

Partially excavated over the last century, much of ancient Babylon, which lies 90 kilometres south of Baghdad, remains undiscovered.

According to a 2005 British Museum report, the use of Babylon as a camp by the Multi-National Force between April 2003 and December 2004 by coalition forces is “tantamount to establishing a military camp around the Great Pyramid in Egypt or around Stonehenge in Britain.”

More at:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2009/07/306172

Destroying history seems to be a feature, not a bug

[byronius]

29. Thanks for this!

I’ve been to a few of them, but way back in the early seventies when I was growing up in Dhahran.

My favorite place of all time was in northern Arabia, the place where they shot The Martian. There’s an ancient city tucked into the mountains near there, just an incredible place.

I spoke Arabic as a child, got to know the local Bedouin kids. We would roam the hills and wadis together.

[mountain grammy]

32. Madness is winning.

[enigmania]

33. Nazis always destroy beauty.