All language subtitles for Joanna Lumleys Silk Road Adventure S01E03 720p_track3_eng

I can't tell you how
exciting it is to be here.

I'm in Tehran - the capital of Iran!

Do you know, up to 10 days ago

we didn't know whether we were ever
going to be able to come

to this fabulous country

and then, suddenly,
our visas came through

and I'm here now,

and so are you.

Iran is pivotal to the Silk Road
and our great journey.

All the ideas,
all the cultural exchanges,

all the philosophy, all the poetry

came from this country
when it was Persia.

So far in my travels along
this ancient trade route,

we've seen the glamorous silk

that made Venice the richest city
in Europe.

Gee-whiz, respect.

We've trekked through Georgia's
breathtaking Caucasus Mountains.

Wow!

And wondered at the glittering
towers of modern Azerbaijan.

It's magic.

Now, at last, in incredible Iran,

we'll be exploring the ancient
wonders of Persepolis.

I mean, the scale of it,
it's amazing.

I'll find a surprisingly familiar
twist to the silk trade.

Christian Lacroix.

Lacroix sweetie, Lacroix.

And in an enchanting city
there are night-time celebrations.

A really special occasion,
I've gate-crashed it.

Thank goodness I dressed up.

Join me on my Silk Road adventure!

Persia, as Iran used to be called,

was famed for its wealth
and sophistication

and was the beating heart
of the Silk Road.

Starting from its capital, Tehran,

we'll cross deserts and visit oases

to the ancient glorious city
of Persepolis.

Iran is very much off
the typical tourist trail.

This once centre of the known world
feels almost like a hidden state.

When I was growing up,

Iran was epitomised by the Shah
and his immense wealth,

built largely from the Iranian
oil reserves.

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini
and the Islamic revolution

swept into power.

Iran increasingly became
isolated from the West

and was later branded by George Bush
as part of the axis of evil,

and continues to be viewed
by some in the West

as a pariah state
with nuclear ambitions.

I've always wanted to visit Iran

and go behind the politics

and see the country
and the people who live there.

If you come here, though,
you have to conform.

Modest dress and head scarves
have enforced by law in Iran,

and visiting foreigners
are no exception.

Staying both stylish
and within the law is no mean feat,

so I've asked Reihane Taravati to
help me out with a spot of shopping.

Where are we going now?

We're going to a Milan Mall,
a very new shopping centre,

which is very much trendy.

This is so far from
the Tehran I had imagined.

This is fantastic!

Facebook and Twitter are banned
in Iran but Instagram is not.

Last year alone, 23 million Iranians
opened a social media account

for the first time,

and Reihane is one of the country's
top social media influencers.

So what social media has
done is linked Iran,

and the young people of Iran
with the world?

I follow Vogue,

I follow Time magazine,
is my favourite.

Do you?
Yeah.

I read Elle, Marie Claire.

Wow.
Yeah, no.

We never think...
(GASPS) Look, scarves!

This is what I'm looking for.

Reihane and I were just getting
to some important issues

but I've been distracted
by some shiny silky things.

(SPEAKS FARSI)

So I would like to get something
that maybe I could wear with this.

I love good colours.
I mean, look at this colour.

Something smaller like yours which
I could just twist around my head.

That would go with anything,
wouldn't it?

Would that look good with this?
Will you help me?

Oh, darling, you're
just the person I want.

Do you like the fabric?
I think it's lovely.

It's lovely and light.

I'm pretty much adoring that.

I'd like to get the viewers'
votes at home on this.

If I was on Instagram,

people would tell me at once,
wouldn't they?

(LAUGHS)

So, now, let's have a look at it.

Christian Lacroix.

Lacroix, sweetie, Lacroix.

So there we are.

I have a feeling
it's a king's ransom.

Do I care? Not a jot.

This is gorgeous, isn't it?

Where shall we go now?

This shopping trip is changing
all my preconceptions.

You see, the thing is, Reihane,
we in the West,

most of the stuff we hear from the
Middle East and Central Asia

are war stories
and horrible stories...

I know.
..and we never see the beauty.

That's why I actually like
the social media a lot

'cause, you know, you can see
the real people of Iran,

their homes, their stories,

and it's kind of more true.

Yes, it is.
I get that feeling.

And you get the absolute feeling
that you are looking out to the world

and the world can
look back into you?

Yes.

Tehran is also famous for having
some of the worst traffic jams

in the world.

Which doesn't help
when you have to cross town

to meet one of the country's
biggest movie stars,

Bahram Radan

He's known as Iran's Brad Pitt

and he's currently filming
a taekwondo action movie.

Hi.
How good to meet you.

How lovely to meet you.
Welcome to Iran.

Well, thank you for letting us
to come to watch this.

This is rehearsal?

Yes, this is a rehearsal day.

Bahram, is cinema very popular
here in Iran?

Yeah, it is, it is.

And you make how many films a year?

More than 150, I guess.

It's huge.
Yeah, it's huge.

It's a huge industry, actually.
Yes.

That's far more
than we make in Britain.

And what are the chances of me
coming to work in Iran

in the film industry?

You want to learn Farsi?
Yeah.

Definitely. Let's do that.

Or maybe I can play a foreigner.

Oh, yeah.
A hated...a hated foreigner.

I would be a beastly woman
from overseas

who couldn't speak Farsi.

Yeah, we should give it a try.

Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful?
Yeah, I think so.

But an added complication to acting
in Iran that I hadn't considered

are the restrictions between sexes.

You know, we have
so many boundaries,

we have so many limitations.

How...when I cannot touch any woman,

if I...if I want to hug my mother
in the movie,

I can't.

You can't?
I can't.

And so I have to...

Me and the director
and all this stuff...

Work out a way.

..we have to work on how we can
deliver our messages

with all those limitations,
you know.

So that's a little bit hard.

But, at the same time,

I'm so happy that I'm living

in very, very talented
group of people...

Yes.

..that can, with all these
limitations,

they can do masterpieces.

Yes.
I hope it'll change soon, for you.

(LAUGHS) I'm sure it will.

It's been a privilege,
thank you, Bahram.

Thank you.

If I had a bit of paper,
I'd ask for your autograph.

Oh! (LAUGHS)

I've sampled modern Tehran

but before I leave the capital,

I want to glimpse the splendour
of its magnificent imperial past.

This is Golestan Palace,

the former home of the Shahs of Iran

and still an ornate reminder
of the wealth and excesses

of the old monarchy.

It's like being in a jewel box.

And this is the huge
yellow marble throne.

And these huge awnings
would be rolled up

and then sitting here,
the Shah would see all the people

who had come to have an audience.

It's sensational.

Oh!

Oh, look!
Come, come. Come, come.

Paintings of the Shahs
with their great jewelled crowns

and carrying weapons.

Shah Naser al-Din made the biggest
changes to the palace

in the 19th century.

Known for his over-the-top
lifestyle,

he was a fan of all things European

and took design inspiration
from the Palace of Versailles.

Every part of every single surface
decorated,

and when you look up there,

it's like looking at a heavenly
piece of jewellery,

the fineness of the glasswork.

I'm so pleased I've seen this.

I wouldn't have believed it.

You can't get it from photographs.

The temperature is soaring,

but the Silk Road
is beckoning me south

where it's in the 40s.

Most tourists overlook the small
city of Kashan

but it's got several jewels

that I'm hoping are worth
a long, thirsty drive.

With me is Mahnaz Mohammadi,
a filmmaker from Tehran,

who is guiding me through
this scorching arid landscape.

I'm looking on each side,
it's so bleak.

We've got a few mountains,
but it's...

A little bit of grass growing.
Yeah.

But we've seen some deserts,
haven't we?

Yeah.
Deserts everywhere.

To survive the desert

and take their silks and carpets
out beyond Persia,

traders followed ancient camel routes
from watering hole to watering hole.

Do you want some of
your lovely aloe vera?

Yeah. Please. Thank you so much.

What have I got, Mogu Mogu
pink guava-flavoured drink.

(GASPS)
Gotta chew, it says, gotta chew.

What does that mean?

This, incidentally, "Gotta chew",

means it's got lumps of stuff in it.

Might be guava, it might not be.

It says with coconut in it.

So we've got little blobs of coconut.
Very nice.

Over time, these little oases grew
into major trading posts.

One of the most important
was here in Kashan.

Today, it's a small city of 300,000,

and only gets a handful
of foreign visitors a year.

Yet, prized Persian carpets
are still handmade here,

but you do need to know
where to look for them.

Salaam.
Salaam.

Maryam Kavaki comes from a long line
of Kashan carpet weavers.

Look at this work.

This seems like alchemy to me,

to see what seem to be
completely random threads.

Maryam, how old were you

when you started to learn
how to weave carpets.

And so, generation after generation,

great-grandmothers teaching
their daughters, down, down, down.

Now we get Maryam.

And so her hands, these little
hands, are very skilled.

With the swiftness, I couldn't see,

but now it comes round one,
round the other,

back there, pull down, cut.

But then all the time
following this pattern.

It's quite phenomenal and it's
growing in front of our eyes.

How long has it taken you, Maryam,
to make this much carpet here?

Er, 20 days.
20 days?

Long day, long day.

And what about the birds?
Do they keep your company?

When we go to a shop
and buy a Persian carpet,

no idea that somebody like Maryam
has sat here and made it

day after day,

and you go,
"Mmm, I love that one",

and all these hours of toil.

Women around the world
making things of such beauty.

Look at that.

I wish this carpet were finished now
and I would buy it from you.

You are wonderful. You are wonderful.

You're brilliant.

When Marco Polo visited here
800 years ago,

he was told that the three wise men
who followed the star

came from Kashan,

and it's a story
that's still around today.

On the outskirts of Kashan

lies one of Iran's oldest
and greatest treasures.

This is the Fin Garden.

It's called chahar bagh because it's
laid out in the traditional style

of four gardens, divided
by running waterways,

shaded by tall, cool trees like this.

Absolutely peaceful.

It's the oldest Persian garden
still in existence,

built in 1590 and following the
tradition of the paradise garden.

At the very heart is a spring that
rises up in the central pool

before cascading out
into all four corners.

Paradise sort of means the walled
garden,

and here we're looking
at hedges and trees

which are quite normal for us
in the UK.

But just beyond there
it's a raging desert.

It's flat. It's baking hot.

Can you imagine in the old days
to come inside

and to hear running water,
and to have shadow and shade,

and order laid out in front of you.

In a suitably cool corner
of the garden,

I meet Mr Aminyan,

who has spent his career protecting
this jewel of Kashan.

Mr Aminyan, this looks so inviting.

Can we take our shoes and socks off
and put our feet in the water?

I'm going to get some
miraculous water on my feet.

Mr Aminyan, do you have
a garden of your own?

Who was it who thought of this idea?

Thank you. Merci.
Thank you so much.

This idea was revolutionary.

It actually hadn't happened
anywhere in the world.

And this idea went across to China
for irrigation,

for watering plants and things.

But once this idea caught fire
and the world had seen it,

like with so many other things,
Persians leading the way.

Dragging myself away from the peace
and tranquillity

of the paradise garden...

..next is the former dazzling capital
of ancient Persia,

Isfahan.

It's where the old trade route
from north to south

joins the one from east to west.

And the jewel in the crown
of Isfahan is Naqsh-e Jahan Square.

Oh, well!

It's colossal.

Three times the size
of St Mark's in Venice,

it's the largest enclosed
square in the world.

It was built by Shah Abbas I
in the 16th century,

who was said to be as cruel
as Ivan the Terrible

and as canny as Elizabeth I.

Look at this, on this great,
great terrace,

the king's palace, Ali Qapu,
looking over this phenomenal square.

What is this vast space?

Is it just a garden, a park?
Well, it is now.

But in the old days
it was a polo ground

and the King would come out here

and watch his favourite polo players
and his favourite horses, perhaps.

And, of course,
he was in an ideal position.

There's about 3km of shopping
wrapped all around here,

and he's a personal little mosque
over there.

Absolutely sumptuous.

I think some of you
are a little bit anxious

about what I'm wearing on my head.

Now, look, this is the problem.

One of the crew has said that
I reminded him of Hilda Ogden.

So today I'm rocking
the Florida golf widow look.

I hope you like it.

It may change again.

This, I feel,
is the nearest I've got

to what the Silk Road would have
been like 400 or 500 years ago.

You would have seen silk merchants
from China,

spice traders from India,

Persian carpets and silver jewellery.

MAN: Come, be drinking tea
in our carpet shop.

English people like tea very much.

We like tea and we like carpets.
We like tea and carpets.

And this looks like silk.
Is this silk?

Yeah, this one is 100% silk.
It is a hunting design.

It is one of the oldest patterns.

Isn't that gorgeous.

This also is where to
park your bike. I love it.

Just leave it there
so people can see it.

There'll be no
stumbling on the bike.

Leave it there, middle of the road.

(PLAYS TRADITIONAL MUSIC)

400 years ago, Isfahan was one
of the largest cities in the world,

bigger than London and more
cosmopolitan than Paris.

There is good price.

May I see?
Yes.

You can hear lovely little
tapping sounds.

This is what I love,
the sound of metal workers.

It always means there's
artisans at work.

So when he's finished
with his chisel,

when he's finished cutting it out,

this outside bit will lift off,

and set it against black velvet.

Look how fine it is.

This is a gorgeous picture of two,
I think, mythical birds.

Seems to have a great Chinese
influence

and I wonder if these ideas of art

were flowing to and from
the Silk Road for centuries,

and somebody seeing it and going,

"Mmm, pretty much like that.
"I could do that in my own workshop."

and this is how ideas gradually
work their way back.

The power hungry Shah Abbas

had a cunning reason
for building the market

right next to his palace.

It helped him to control trade.

And he didn't stop there.

Oh, look!

This is the great mosque at the end.

He also wanted to control
the power of the clergy.

So at one end of his giant square,
he built a huge public mosque

and called it The Royal Mosque.

Because it's being restored,

we've been asked not
the take our shoes off.

Look at this!

Staggering great dome.

The magnificent 53-metre-high dome
was cleverly designed

so that the voice of someone

speaking from directly
beneath its centre is echoed

around the huge interior.

And here's the famous mark
of the centre,

which means that it's right
underneath the middle of the dome.

And I think that
if I clapped here...

(CLAPS)

(CLAP ECHOES)

Can you hear that? (CLAPS)

(CLAP ECHOES)

That's what I call a ricochet.

(CLAP ECHOES)

Our visit to Iran coincided
with the month of Ramadan,

when Muslims fast
during daylight hours.

We were told that the Great Square
would really come to life

in the evening.

And I just couldn't resist another
visit to the Aladdin's Cave

that is the Great Bazaar.

Oh, look, look, look - how beautiful.

Look, it's full of carpets.
This is divine.

Can we come in?
Here you are. Welcome.

Thank you. Oh, how wonderful!

What a collection you have here.

We have around 2,700 years history
for Persian carpet.

Wow.
Yes.

And all have a meaning.

Ali has travelled extensively,
spending time with nomads.

This carpet's from Balouch,
another tribe of nomad,

south-east part of Iran.

He learnt that every carpet tells
a different story.

This type of chicken,

this is the symbol of richness
in Persian carpet.

Is it?
Yes.

This is symbol of eyes
that shows the nomad hospitality.

Oh, lovely. Thank you.

Each carpet, it turns out,
is rich with the meaning

of the life of the person
who made it.

This is the mother and son paisley.

It's a little one
inside the bigger paisley.

Yes, same as if pregnant.
And the life start.

I had no idea that there were
so many different kinds of carpets.

Whenever you think of Persian carpet,
I love a Persian carpet.

Now you see there is an absolute
plethora of different ones -

nomadic ones, kilims, city carpets.

Beautiful.
Thank you.

Thank you so much.
You're welcome.

It's been such a revelation
talking to you.

Our pleasure.

How lovely this looks in the evening.
Look at this place!

During Ramadan,
called 'Ramazan' here,

the sound of evening prayers
signals the end of fast for the day.

And this prayer...

Azan.
Azan.

After that, they will stop
the praying...

And break the fast.
Yes.

Yes, look - here are people
here sitting down,

breaking up, eating something.

Look at that little gang of
chattering, chattering children.

I think they're asking us
to join them.

Salom, hello!

And it would be rude not to.

They've all got a little small dish
of food...

They haven't started yet.

..in front of them.

And they'll be given a sign, a sign,
I think, that they can start eating.

(CHILDREN CLAP AND SING)

My name is Joanna.
Joanna, yes, yes.

It's rice, and sort of saffron rice,
pickled cabbage, some oniony bits.

It turned out that
this was a special evening

for these young lads.

They were leaving
their local primary school.

Isn't that lovely?
So this is graduation.

So it is special - it is not
just an everyday occurrence,

Iftar in the evening, of Ramazan.

It's a really special occasion.
I've gate-crashed it.

Thank goodness I dressed up.

Reza, one of the teachers
from the elementary school,

has helped to organise the picnic.

Is tonight a big celebration?

The palatial buildings and gigantic
square here were so impressive

that residents boasted
that Isfahan is half the world.

But it's time to leave and follow
in Marco Polo's footsteps

even deeper into the desert,

to an ancient place where
a sacred fire thousands of years old

is still alight.

When the great explorer Marco Polo
travelled through Persia in 1292,

he wrote of a remote
good and noble city

where they made a much sought after
type of silk known as Yazdi.

The city he was describing is Yazd.

Lying on the borders of Iran's
two largest deserts,

it's one of the oldest cities
on earth.

And its history helps explain
how the Silk Road allowed merchants

to export not just valuable goods

but also precious ideas.

This is the old part
of the city of Yazd,

which is bang in the middle
of the desert.

It's the most remote city I think
I've ever been to in my life.

Marco Polo came here
about 800 years ago,

and he said if you rode in
any direction for seven days,

you'd be lucky to get
three little sips of water.

It's so remote.

The house builders in Yazd also
invented a revolutionary technology.

An ingenious idea that was carried
along the Silk Road

to countries right across
the Middle East and North Africa -

the world's first
air conditioning system.

And these fine, beautiful,
strange, upright, box-looking things

are wind chimneys.

They draw the air in,
even when it's 42 degrees outside,

which it has been today
and is pretty much now,

and it's hot.

They cool the air as it comes down.

And so inside these little
hot mud huts, it's much cooler.

Yazd is regarded as the most
beautiful desert city in the world,

and despite its historic appearance,
has a young beating heart.

This is what we know as charades,

and I think they call it 'pantomime'
here.

Thank you. We love Iran.
My friend...

Yes.
University.

University? University of Yazd.

I wish I could join in.
I kind of love this game.

(LAUGHS)

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

(APPLAUSE)

I didn't know what the titles are
that they're doing.

We've got a lovely girl
going to do it now.

Oh, it looks hard.
What's it going to be, baby?

(ALL TALK AT ONCE)

Walt Disney! Walt Disney!

(APPLAUSE)

Delve deeper into the old town
of Yazd

and you'll find echoes of a time

when a man couldn't even open
the door to a woman.

Oh, look - I've heard of
these door knockers. Look.

This is the man's door knocker,
straight like that.

Well, rather sort of graphic,
actually, like that.

This is the woman's door knocker.
Look.

So that when you're listening...

(TAPPING)

..that's women.

So you know that's a woman outside -
in this case, me.

And this is men...

(KNOCKING)

Isn't that clever?

Makes me think how slow we are
at home

because we just go bing-bong
and you've no idea.

It could be the Avon lady -
I'm not advertising.

It could just be the milkman...

It turns out that Yazd has
a surprising link

to a legendry British rock star.

Freddie Mercury was raised
as a Zoroastrian,

a religion that originated in Persia
3,500 years ago.

In this rather
unprepossessing street sits

one of the most important temples
to Zoroastrianism,

one of the oldest religions
in the world.

It spread from here
with the Silk Road traders,

who moved gradually eastwards
to Central Asia, China and India,

where Freddie's parents were born.

Fire is sacred to Zoroastrians,
both as a means of purification

and a symbol of their Lord of Wisdom,
Ahura Mazda.

This is the temple of fire in Yazd -
so small, so elegant,

with the great symbol of
Zoroastrianism up above the door.

Huge, spread wings.

An aged man with a great big beard
holding one hand up,

a ring in the other.

Here is this gorgeous symbol
telling me what it is.

That hand reaching upwards to God
and this hand holding a ring,

symbolising that you must keep
your promises.

And we have that today
in our wedding rings.

We have that on our left finger.

This is the bit
that I absolutely adore.

It says, "Respect your elders."

This is a special message
for teenagers who are watching this.

"Look to middle-aged people
or even old people

"or even quite wrinkly people
because they know it all.

"They've done it all.
They have experience."

I know all this because
I obviously can read fluent.

I just sort of knew it.

I found I could just...
almost like speaking in tongues.

Zoroastrians took refuge here
in this desert city

after the Muslim conquest of Persia
in the 7th century,

and brought with them
their most treasured possession.

And so here it is, the sacred fire.

This particular piece of fire was
taken from an original piece of fire

and this has been burning
for 1,400 years.

It's absolutely extraordinary

to have come from the complexity
of the great mosques

with all their splendour

to see this simple, bare little room.

Zoroaster, the great priest,
whose name also is Zarathustra.

Also Sprach Zarathustra -
you know that famous piece

which is played forever?

(HUMS ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA)

Richard Strauss. Play it. Now.

(ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA PLAYS)
That's it.

That's Zarathustra.

(ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA CONTINUES)

Fire influenced every aspect
of Zoroastrian life and death.

These are ancient hilltop
burial grounds.

Known as the towers of silence,

they're an eerie tradition
of Zoroastrianism -

the religion of Persia
for a thousand years before Islam.

Because Zoroastrians believes
that fire was sacred,

they wouldn't contaminate the fire
with a dead body.

So they're laid to rest up here.
Birds of the air come and eat them.

Sky burial, and eaten by the birds.

We're over halfway
through our journey through Iran

and I can't tell you how pleased
I am that I came here.

I have to say,
I did have doubts about it.

The difficulty with filming
and communicating with people,

and that perhaps we'd have been
watched or judged

in everything we did.

I could not have been more wrong.
It's been completely extraordinary.

Fantastically welcoming.
So kind and so friendly.

It's just been a revelation.

And another revelation is the food.

I was anxious, gosh,
will it all be kind of stewed goat?

And I'm a vegetarian.

Well, here, I've eaten the best
vegetarian food in the world.

And tonight, this is actually vegan.
Stewed vegetable.

Mmm, absolutely delicious.

We'll just have to take
a little piece of bread as well.

I don't usually eat the bread -
obviously you can tell that.

Slender. But now and then,
irresistible.

We're on the last leg
of the Silk Road in Iran

and it's taking us right down
to the south-west of the country

to Shiraz.

So, Shiraz. Oh, dream, dream,
dreaming of going to Shiraz!

Yeah.

Shiraz people? Are they?

Here they're relaxing,

further south, relaxing in the heat,

with the flowers, nightingales,
glass of wine, poetry -

why would they work?

I quite understand. How lovely.
Yeah.

This is the Qur'an Gate,
the entrance to Shiraz.

The tradition is that when
you're going on a journey,

somebody holds a copy of the holy
book, the Koran, over your head.

You pass under it and that brings you
safe blessings for your journey.

I haven't got a copy of the Koran
with me

but I've got the sun above
to give me blessings.

Shiraz was an important stop
on the caravan routes

that ran down to the Persian Gulf.

It's the capital of Fars Province,

from where the official language
of Iran, Farsi, takes its name.

And I've got a very personal reason
for coming here.

I'm so thrilled to be in Shiraz

because my mother was nearly born
here.

My grandfather was a young consul
at the time

and one of his postings was here to
Persia and he was down in Shiraz.

The dynasty he served under,
the Qajar dynasty,

gave him the star of Persia.

You can see how beautiful it is.

That is the piece that would have
been worn on a ribbon

around your neck.

And this would have been worn
on your sash of office

going across your chest.

My grandmother,
having left Persia, said

that of all the countries in
the world she wished to return to

and would love to live in was Persia.

I can just picture a pretty nice day
for my grandmother here.

Painting in the morning
in that glorious garden

and then a spot of lunch.

I'm going to go to a gorgeous
little restaurant,

Shirazi restaurant, perfect food.

I think that must be it.

It's got a beautiful knocker
on the door.

Salom.
Hello. Very welcome.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Shiraz wine did originally come
from Shiraz but alcohol was banned

after the 1979 revolution.

Today in Iran,
you don't get a wine list.

You get a rosewater list.

We have three main rosewaters.
Yes.

A rosewater with some herb seeds,
lemon juice with rosewater.

And another rosewater that they
don't know the name of flavour.

May I have the very first one,
rosewater with some seeds in it?

I'd love that.
OK. Yes, of course.

Five minutes.
Thank you.

Well, how gorgeous is this?
Beautiful little courtyard.

And they're keeping the watermelons
in the water of the fountain.

Oh!
There you are.

Oh, look!
Rosewater with some seeds.

Our traditional dessert.
I've got to try this first.

That is exquisite.
Tastes of roses and syrup.

These wonderful seeds.

Because Iran is a dry country,

they take such a lot of care in
preparing drinks that are delicious.

So you don't miss the great
famous Shiraz wines of yesteryear.

And that, dear viewer,
is one that, in my opinion,

you should definitely try at home.

Iranians adore poetry and often say
that Farsi is its natural language.

In Shiraz, people flock to visit
the tomb

of their country's
most revered poet, Hafez.

Abbas?
Hi.

Hi. I'm Joanna. Nice to meet you.
Nice to see you.

This is good of you -
thank you so much.

No problem.

University student Abbas
is my new best friend.

Abbas, you sound as though
you've studied in America.

Actually, I didn't.
It's mostly movies.

You've done all this from here?
Yes.

But you're very fluent.
You sound like Woody Allen.

That's really kind of you.

He has a thick New York accent,
which I don't have.

No, you don't have!

In a centuries-old tradition
called fale Hafez,

people randomly open a page
of the great man's book

and look for inspiration
and personal guidance in that poem.

Look how beautiful that is.
Yes.

Salom. Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay.

Is this the first time that
you've been here to the tomb?

Did the poem that you found today
resolve the problem you came with?

And what about you?
Is it good news for you?

Well, it was our good fortune
to meet you here.

Merci. Adieu.

Salom. Hello. I'm Joanna.
Hello.

How nice to meet you.

Will you tell me what it is
about Hafez, the poet,

that makes his work so enduring
over the centuries?

How wonderful.
Do you have a favourite one?

Bravo! Bravo!

Merci, merci. That was beautiful.

With the best memories.
Yes, thank you.

How lovely.

So here's my lovely copy of Hafez.

How do I do the fale?
How do I do it?

You just put your nails

and you randomly pick a page
and you just open it.

There.
Good job.

Oh, it's wonderful. He is such
a wonderful poet, isn't he?

Can you read the Persian to me?

"Throw me into the ship of wine,
o, wine bearer..."

(BOTH LAUGH)

I've gone straight for
the alcoholic rendition!

"It is said help the poor

"and if, by any chance,
you become poor, God will help you."

And it will come back,
somebody will give it to you.

Yes, something will come back
to you.

Oh, that's very good news.
Yes, it is.

Tell me, how many films did you have
to watch

to get this perfect English?

(LAUGHS)
Go on, tell me.

It's been 12 years.

On average, every two days,
one movie.

Every two days?
Every two days, yep.

You've seen all American cinema,
haven't you?

The most famous ones, I suppose.

You've been so kind, Abbas.
Thank you very much indeed.

The privilege is all mine.

Our final stop in Iran lies
just 60km from Shiraz.

These are the colossal walls
of Persepolis -

one of the mighty cities,

the legendary cities
of the ancient world.

I'm seeing it for the first time.

My heart is beating so hard.

So this is how they would have
come up to this palace,

wondering what they
were going to see.

I'm wondering what I'm going to see.

Oh! Look at this avenue!

Huge avenue coming across the plain.

And it would have led you right up,
all the way up to...

(GASPS)

Oh, my gosh!

Persepolis was founded
by Darius the Great

in 518 BC when Britons were still
living in wooden hill forts.

It was designed only for
pomp and pageantry

and became the ceremonial capital
of the Persian Empire -

a beacon of extravagance.

What it must have been like to come
to see this palace.

I mean, the scale of it!
It's...it's amazing.

Persepolis quite soon became
the envied city in the entire world.

"Is it not passing brave
to be a king

"and ride in triumph
through Persepolis?"

Those lines were written by
Christopher Marlowe

in the play Tamburlaine the Great.

And on stage in London,
if you're in a classical play,

and you're dry -
you forget your words -

you just say that and the audience
will never know

that it's just been dropped in.

Gives you time to think
of your next line.

"Is it not passing brave
to be a king

"and ride in triumph
through Persepolis?"

With the city in its prime,

the Persian Empire ruled over 44%
of the world's population.

A greater percentage than
any other empire in history.

So this is a depiction on the wall

of all the different parts
of the empire,

of the Great Persian Empire,

bringing tribute to the king
of the time.

So this would be a Mede
with his round hat.

This would be a Persian
with his tall hat, holding hands.

This group comes from India.
You can see he's wearing a sari.

This lot come from Samarkand.

I'm going to Samarkand next -

another of the exotic
and fabulous places in the world

which was on the Silk Road.

This is people coming from
all over the place,

bringing trade and bringing it
through Iran and through Persepolis.

These are Greeks and they've got
honeycomb and folded cloth,

cups of some sweet nectar.

Possibly retsina.

And they're all going upstairs

and they're all bringing their gifts
to the king of kings, the Shahanshah.

But sadly, all this celebration
and pageantry was not to last.

Less than 200 years later,

Alexander the Great sacked and looted
Persepolis.

It took 20,000 mules and 5,000 camels
to take away all his spoils,

leaving it more or less in the state
we see today.

Oh, gosh.

I wish I could see what it was like.

Well, I can.

Oh, my heavens.

Massive black pillars.

Great, beautiful battened ceiling
with horses' heads up there.

Great, stark decorations
but so effective.

Oh, and there's the gateway
I walked through.

Oh, this is marvellous.

Oh, I could stand here all day
in the midday sun.

Just staring at this glory.

The Iranian state has its problems

and it's not an obvious tourist
destination for us in the West.

And yet, the ordinary
and extraordinary people I've met

have been welcoming, warm
and generous.

I met an Iranian man here,
just today, with his family

and they said welcoming signs
to me.

And he just said, "Governments!"

That's exactly what I feel.

And now, for lust of knowing
what should not be known,

I take the golden road to Samarkand.

Captions by Red Bee Media

Copyright Australian
Broadcasting Corporation