That was the question pressing for a decision as I said goodbye to my student's family and headed out of Kermanshah. The night had been quiet and there was no sign of further disturbance in the streets. Prudence seemed to dictate an immediate return to Esfahan, but I wasn't ready to say goodbye to the Achaemenids yet. From the look of things I wouldn't likely get another chance to see the archeological sights I was interested in. (Americans are still personae non grata in Iran). So, throwing all caution to the winds I headed south towards Susa and the descent into the Mesopotamian Valley. I would add a side note at this point about the agony of Kermanshah, which is only around 100 km. (63 miles) from the Iraq border. Soon after the success of the Islamic Revolution war broke out between Iraq and Iran and lasted throughout most of the 1980s. Kermanshah was hit hard and has not yet fully recovered I hear. I have no idea whatever became of my student or his family.
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Taqwasan--equestrian carving of Khosrau II
and his horse Shabdiz in the large
grotto
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There are some interesting caves and relief carvings in the cliffs of
Taqwasan just outside the city from the 6th Century AD.
The largest cave shows a relief carving of the Sassanid king Khosrau
II arrayed for battle on his horse. The cave itself is decorated with
carvings of the tree of life and flower patterns and winged angels.
To be continued....
2 comments:
I left a comment, previously. Asked for MORE wonderful photos. Don't see my comment….ayyyyy
I see this one. I looked for the previous one but didn't see it. Something must have gone wrong, because it would appear under recent comments. As you can see if you scroll back there is no comment. What was it about?
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