Iran
Departing 26-Mar-2010
to 16-Apr-2010
Few countries can boast such an illustrious past or such an astounding diversity of cultures such as Iran, the centre of some of the ancient world's greatest empires. This comprehensive 23-day tour will include many of Iran's greatest monuments from 5000 BCE to the present day.
Join us whilst we visit the ancient mound of Tepe Sialk, with a history extending back some 7000 years, and the towering ziggurat at Choga-Zanbil, built in about 1250 BCE by Untash Gal, ruler of Susa and Anshan.
We also enter the world of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes and the other great Achaemenid kings, and visit their awe-inspiring palaces at Persepolis, Susa and Pasargadae along with their imposing tombs, carved into the sheer rock face at Nasqh-i-Rustam. We explore the lesser known, but equally powerful, empire of the Sassanians. Their wonderfully-constructed palaces and rock-reliefs at Bishapur, Firuzabad, and Tagh-i-Bustan along with the remarkable religious centre of Takht-i-Sulaiman (with its bottomless blue lake and great Fire Temple) represent some of the finest monuments seen in Iran today.
On this tour we have ample opportunity to examine the remarkable art and architecture of Islamic Persia, for under the patronage of the Seljuk, Timurid, and Safavid dynasties (to name a few) Persian culture entered one of its most brillant phases.
The wonderful museums of Tehran (some were former palaces of the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties) allow us to explore fully Persian painting, calligraphy, jewellery, and textiles whilst the Bagh-i-Eram and tombs of Hafez and Sa'adi at Shiraz ("the city of roses and nightingales") enable us to enter the enchanted worlds of Persian poetry and gardens.
We will visit and stay overnight in desert cities such as Na'in and Yazd (a real gem) whose merchant's houses, built largely of mudbrick, and wonderfully preserved caravanserais bear witness to the great trade networks which existed throughout the medieval and later Islamic world.
We conclude the tour with three nights in Isfahan. Chosen by Shah Abbas as his capital during the 17th century, Isfahan remains one of the jewels of the East. Its palaces, pavilions and chai houses are set in superb gardens on the banks of the Zayendeh Rud. Its magnificent square- the Maidan-i-Naghsh-i-Jahan - is one of the worlds grandest spaces and is bordered by the Ali Qapu Palace, the incomparable Sheik Lotfollah and Imam Mosques and the vast Qeisarieh Bazaar. Isfahan is truly a city to explore at leisure, and fully justifies its title as 'the Pearl of Islam'.
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Dr John Tidmarsh was previously Tutor and then Part-Time Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology a...
