Original subtitles

(upbeat music)

As a reporter, I've traveled around

the Middle East for many years.

It's an area that has always fascinated me,

but in my work, I've mainly covered its war zones,

its crises, and its tragedies.

This journey, which takes me down the Silk Road

in the footsteps of Marco Polo

gives me the opportunity to explore the great

historical and cultural significance

of this part of the world,

its ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations

that have contributed so much to our own.

(upbeat music)

There's always something rather cozy about trains.

Inside, everyone settles into a new life.

It's a great place to meet people

and find out more about other cultures.

On the outside, too, the train gliding smoothly

through the scenery is at home wherever it goes.

While our societies continue to be built up

around streets and roads,

trains move out into the environment,

deep into the heartland.

Here in the 250,000 square kilometers

of the great salt desert of Dasht-e Kavir,

only a few red camels watch the trains go by.

In the oasis of Kashan lies the garden of Fin.

It's a beautiful example of the love

that the Iranians have for the art of the garden,

and in particular for cultivating roses,

which originated in Persia or China.

Spring is over.

While in Tehran it was still cold enough for people

to go skiing in the mountains, here in Kashan

in the middle of the desert, it's already 40 degrees Celsius

which helps us understand why water gardens

like this one here in Fin Garden

are considered a symbol of paradise in Persian culture.

(serene music)

The Muslim conquerors who came out of

the vast Arabian deserts were amazed

by these gardens when they invaded Iran

under the Caliph Umar in the seventh century.

They soon learned the techniques for creating

water displays from the Persians,

and took them to the farthest reaches

of the Arab Empire, to Andalusia,

where in Granada, one can still admire the elegance

of the famous gardens in the Alhambra.

(serene music)

(upbeat drumming)

We continue to make our way southeast

across the great desert in order to find out more

about one of the most fascinating elements

in Iranian culture, Zoroastrianism.

I have to admit that it's a religion

that greatly intrigues me.

In its initial form, Mazdaism, it has existed

for thousands of years.

It's this incredible religion,

a mixture of east and west,

and it revolves around the struggle

between the good spirit, Spenta,

and the evil spirit, Angra.

Zoroastrians worship the sun, the source of all light,

which is embodied in Ata, the sacred fire

whose flame is kept burning day and night in the temples.

Even though Zoroastrianism has been

a monotheistic religion for over 2,000 years,

its followers were persecuted as pagans

by the Muslims after the Arabs conquered Persia

in the year 642.

Zoroastrians found refuge by going far out

to the desert, or sometimes, up onto a cliff face

like this one in Chak Chak,

where, as the legend goes, an Iranian princess,

the daughter of the last king of the Assassinate Dynasty,

hid herself in order to continue practicing her faith.

The name Chak Chak comes from the sound

of the drops of water that seep out

and fall from the wall of the cave

which is now a sanctuary.

(chanting)

Thank you.

There's something quite moving

about seeing this ancient religion

still being practiced today.

It goes back at least 3,000, maybe even four or 5,000 years

so even before the invention of writing.

It began as Mazdaism, from the god Mazda,

and later on in the sixth century BC,

with the prophet Zarathustra, or Zoroaster,

it became one of the first monotheistic religions.

There are 40,000 Zoroastrians still living in Iran today.

They're a tolerated minority in the Islamic Republic.

(chanting)

(water dripping)

Does the water that flows out of the cliff

and drips down from the rock have any special meaning

in Zoroastrian worship?

Yes, that's right.

It's associated with the Chak Chak.

Look behind you, you'll see a basin.

The chak chak sound is always there.

Sometimes it's louder, sometimes it's softer.

If you come during the noruse period,

you'll see water flowing from all of these mountains.

As far as we know, this chak chak sound

has been going on for 1,400 years.

That's why the Muslims gave it that name.

We Zoroastrians call this place Pir-e Sabz,

and it allows us to provide water to the entire region,

the best and the healthiest water.

But we don't know where this water comes from.

Many people look at this dry, dry desert

and they ask, how can there be so much water there?

Is it a miracle?

Not only does it never stop flowing,

but it also meets the water needs of 1,000 to 3,000 people

every single day.

(chanting)

There were three Zoroastrian magi

who gained international fame.

Their names are Balthazar, Gaspar, and Melchior.

According to Marco Polo,

they reigned over a small territory near Sevi,

not far from the present day Tehran.

According to the Bible, they follow a star to Bethlehem

to worship the newborn Christ.

What they did in fact was follow the old caravan route

to the Mediterranean. (chanting)

Zoroastrian culture is linked in many ways

to the Silk Road.

For example, the Zoroastrians used musk

for their purification rituals,

which are an integral part of their religious practice.

Musk is obtained from the gland of the small musk deer,

which belongs to the family Moschidae,

and lives in the high altitudes up in the Himalayas.

It was regarded as a luxury perfume in ancient times,

and it made the fortunes of caravaneers

who imported it from Tibet to Yazd,

which is still a stronghold of Zoroastrianism today.

98% of the population in Iran is Muslim.

However, Zoroastrian ideas and language

have permeated Persian culture to such a point

that they continue to be tolerated,

and even celebrated, for example here in Yazd.

As a result of its strategic location on the Silk Road,

standing at the crossroads between India and Central Asia,

Yazd became a very prosperous city.

In his writings, Marco Polo express his admiration

for the local crafts, and in particular,

for the silks embroidered with gold.

The merchants continued to perpetuate

this tradition in Yazd, another ancient Persian custom

that is still very popular here is the Zurkhaneh,

literally the house of strength.

(foreign language speaking)

Thank you.

Over the centuries, the training exercisers used

by traditional wrestlers have become a sport in themselves.

A very ritualized sport.

The athletes called pahlevani or heroes

work out together in a group, practicing in rhythm

along with ritual songs and to the sound of a drum.

The songs are both sacred and profane,

alternating between verses by the great Persian poet Hafez

and passages from the famous Iranian epic the Shahnameh.

Currently, pahlevan rarely meet for wrestling matches,

but they do train to music almost every day.

The owner of the Zurkhaneh,

who is a former champion himself, is also the drummer.

He's known as the morshed, or the spiritual guide.

(singing)

(drumming)

What is your role as the morshed,

as the ritual master who plays the drum

and leads the players?

In the Zurkhaneh, the morshed

is like a pillar.

The morshed guides the athletes with his drumming

and his songs.

The poetic lyrics he sings

help encourage and energize the athletes.

What's the connection

between your sport and the wrestling

that's so popular here in Iran?

The wrestlers practice the Zurkhaneh

exercise as a warmup before the match.

The Zurkhaneh exercises are preliminary to the pahlevani,

the wrestling.

Now, in terms of the moral

and mystical meaning of the sport,

the athletes must strive to attain a certain character.

They must have good moral qualities,

must be ethical so as to be a model for others

in terms of principles and piety.

A model of purity and virtue.

All of the training

is done in this little arena or pit.

Why, what does it mean?

The pit is sacred.

It represents the modesty and humility

of the ancient athletes in relation to those around them.

The athletes are lower than the spectators,

which means, I am inferior to you.

I am humbled, both in terms of my sports activity

and in my behavior.

The pit also symbolizes the grave,

which is its spiritual meaning.

Every one of us is buried when we die.

When our lives come to an end and we leave this world,

we are buried deep down in a grave.

So when we're down in this pit,

much lower than everyone else, we always have that in mind,

death and the grave.

When we practice in the Zurkhaneh,

there's a hierarchy.

From the youngest to the oldest,

from the beginning to the veteran,

and the professional.

The younger ones show respect to their elders.

Those who have more knowledge, skills, and experience

receive more deference and respect.

You have drums

and you have these dance exercises

in which you spin round like certain Sufi dervishes.

Is there a mystical aspect to your sport?

Practicing the spinning exercises

would enable a warrior armed with a sword or a mace

to defend himself on all sides in a battle.

By whirling around, he's able to keep

his enemies away from him.

From a mystical point of view,

if we look at the spinning in the Zurkhaneh,

it does not come from sufi turning.

In the mystical philosophy of the Zurkhaneh exercises,

we spin in a circle.

We go from the edge to the center

and when we get to the center we stop spinning.

From the outer edges in towards the oneness,

the unity, the symbol of rectitude.

We turn around the horizon,

and then encounter the greatness of the creator.

Perpetuating an ancestral tradition like this

in such a natural straightforward way

is ultimately very Iranian.

Another age old tradition that one comes across

in almost every corner in Yazd is the wind catcher.

This is a chimney device that funnels the breeze

in order to ventilate and cool the inside

of a house or a building.

You might think this is just a picturesque old relic

of days gone by, but in fact, not at all.

It works very well.

In spite of the sweltering heat in Yazd,

ventilation system in these adobe houses

makes them surprisingly comfortable,

even at midday when everyone takes refuge inside.

(calming music)

Yazd is now the main center of Zoroastrianism in Iran.

There are more than 40,000 fire worshipers

in the country today and 30,000 of them live in Yazd.

And to be exact, they don't actually worship fire.

The flame is a symbol, and keeping it alive

is like a form of prayer.

The sacred fire in the great Zoroastrian temple

Atashkadeh in Yazd has been burning continuously

for 1500 years.

As the priest, Merah Ben Afirin tells me.

Right now as we talk, he's tending the fire, and in general,

how have you kept this fire burning for 1500 years?

A Zoroastrian priest comes and feeds the fire

feeding the fire basically entails

putting a piece of wood on the hearth

four or five times a day to keep it going.

It has to do with remembering the past.

In the past, when people couldn't light their own fire,

they would use fire from the temple,

bringing it back to their homes to cook food

and for other purposes.

And so today in remembrance of that time,

we keep this fire lit and we respect it.

(chanting)

We pray five times a day before the light.

This light can be the light of a fire,

or the light of the sun.

We stand there before the light,

which symbolizes clarity and purity,

sincerity and truth, and we pray to one and unique god.

So, is Zoroastrianism considered

to be the oldest monotheistic religion in the world?

Yes.

Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions in the world.

After that came Christianity, Judaism, and finally Islam,

which is the most recent.

We are recognized by the Islamic Public of Iran,

by the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We have our own representative in Parliament.

We live and worship freely in Iran.

They respect us, and consider our religion

to be one of the official religions of the country.

In other words, after Islam,

Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism

are all religions of the book,

and should all be respected.

On the outskirts of Yazd

stand the towers of silence.

In order to avoid polluting the sky and the earth,

Zoroastrians would leave the bodies of their deceased

on top of these towers to be exposed to the sun

and to vultures.

Ideas move about freely, and may sometimes turn up

in unexpected places.

For example, Zoroastrian thought has inspired

what has now become one of the most famous books

in western philosophy, thus spoke Zarathustra,

written by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

(calm music)

Not far from Yazd lies another prosperous oasis Meybod.

Its wealth comes from its soil, its clay,

which was also used to build this enormous castle,

Narin Qal'eh.

It dates back to the era of the Medes empire,

which began in the year 1000 BC.

(string music)

The abundance of clay in this area

made the fortune of the city, and led to the development

of a thriving pottery industry.

Ceramics, earthenware and porcelain from Iran

and in particular from Meybod,

are famous throughout all of Asia.

(string music)

The ceramic formula, which is a mixture of marble powder

and clay, comes from China,

but the pottery making technique itself

is an old Persian tradition.

Combining the two together is emblematic

of the cultural interweaving

that takes place on the Silk Road.

What's interesting here in Meybod

is that the tradition is still flourishing.

It's even gone industrial.

To make beautiful translucent porcelain,

the kalein base ceramic must be fired

at a temperature of over 1200 degrees Celsius.

Here, the painted designs are a mixture of motifs

that come from the Mediterranean and others

that come from China.

The method for making porcelain

was in fact invented by the Chinese around the year 1000.

Iranian ceramics were very popular in Europe

during the 19th century,

but they could no longer be exported

after trade sanctions were imposed on Iran

due to its nuclear program.

A peace agreement has recently been signed

between Tehran, Washington, Moscow, and the other powers.

The potters of Meybod, the modern day heirs

to a timeless art are hoping that orders

will start taking off again.

Such is the impact of globalization

even in the middle of the desert.

We're now on our way to visit

one of Iran's national treasures.

In fact, we could even say its one of the jewels

of Persian or even Arab Islamic culture as a whole.

Isfahan, on the banks of the Zayandeh Rud,

the life-giving river.

The mythical city of Isfahan,

already legendary at the time of the Silk Road,

and on the hippy trail a few centuries later.

This caravan city in the middle of the desert

was in fact inhabited in Alexander the Great's time,

but it didn't become the capital of the Persian empire

until the 16th century, under Shah Abbas the Great.

He decided to transform Isfahan

into an architectural wonder, which gave rise to the saying

Isfahan is half the world.

(chanting)

One could wander through the maze of bazaars,

palaces and mosques in Isfahan for days,

but its the central square, known as Naqsh-e Jahan,

that made the reputation of this former capitol

of the Saf Avid empire.

The city's most beautiful monuments

are erected around the perimeter of this massive square,

which is an architectural theatricalization of royal power.

Sheik Lotfollah Mosque was built in the 17th century

with a very original design.

There's no forecourt and the prayer hall

lies directly between the dome of the mosque.

Sheik Lotfollah Mosque is especially known

for its decoration for the lavish beauty of,

among other things, its yellow onyx panels and glazed tiles.

At the far end of the same monumental square,

where polo matches were once played,

stands the Great Shah Mosque.

It was built in 1612 by Abbas the First,

the great Sefhavid Emperor,

who turned Isfahan into a symbol

of the grandeur of Shia Islam.

Practiced by a large majority of Iranians,

this branch of Islam is called duodecimen Shiism,

because it only recognizes the first 12 Imams as successors

of the prophet Muhammad.

Aesthetically, it's mind-blowing.

This mosque is an architectural miracle.

I'm literally in awe.

People talk about the Taj Mahal,

but in terms of Islamic architecture,

I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful.

Maybe the Alhambra in Granada, I don't know.

(chanting)

Now watch and listen.

Our friend Marsud is going to do an experiment.

Alright, the sound.

Just now, I was talking about an architectural miracle.

Listen.

The acoustics in here are astounding.

This is where the muezzin would stand

to perform the call to prayer.

Listen.

(clapping)

It's unbelievable.

(piano music)

Every Friday, the great mosque fills up with people,

and the large awning is restored

to protect the crowds from the sun

during the weekly prayer.

Today, the Shah Mosque is called the Ayatollah Homini mosque

after that Imam who founded the Islamic Republic in 1979.

Making Iran the largest theocracy in the world.

(soothing music)

The Iranians see the ancient imperial city of Isfahan

not so much as the city of mosques,

but rather, as the city of bridges.

There are two dozen bridges, with the most famous

being perhaps the Si-o-se-pol, with its 33 arches.

Historically, it separated the Iranian town

from the Jewish town.

In Isfahan, as in Tehran, it is to the bridges

that the city's inhabitants come to enjoy life

and its moments of leisure.

To play music, or eat pastries with family and friends,

to flirt or recite poems, to the soft melody of an ud.

Iran, so gentle, so subtle, so refined.

What a discovery, what a surprise,

and what a delight this country was.

I can see why the merchants went off so willingly

to join the caravans on the Silk Road

in order to travel through lands such as these.

(string music)