Scene #

Description

Narration

1

A man is walking through the ruins of the Persian city of Persepolis.

[MUSIC PLAYING] An hour’s drive outside Shiraz is Iran’s most famous site. This is the ancient Persian city of Persepolis. It was built by Darius the Great 2,500 years ago. It took 108 years to complete, and marked an era when the Persian Empire ruled most of the Middle East. In 331 BC, Alexander the Great burned Persepolis to the ground. The remains lay covered with dust and rubble until the 1930s, when it was finally excavated.

2

A man in a blue shirt wearing glasses is sitting in the city talking.

Persepolis as a place is a forgotten backwater of Persia and Iran. Very few people come here. There's little cultural contact between the rest of the world. And you've only got to look at the car park outside-- it's minute for the size of the place.

3

Up close images of the details of the ruins are shown as the narrator continues to walk through the ruins.

You could say that Persepolis marked the beginning and the end of the Persian Empire, because it was here, in 1972, where the last Shah of Iran had a massive party. He spent millions and millions of dollars, invited VIPs from all over the world. Even the food and the champagne was flown in from Paris, but hardly any Iranians were invited. This really angered the people and sowed the seeds of resentment. Seven years later, it ended in revolution.

4

The narrator walks by tombs and points them out.

These are the tombs of Naqsh-e Rustam. It's where the four greatest shahs of Persia are buried. And that one there is where Darius the Great lies. Lovely scaffolding effect. Not surprisingly, the last Shah of Iran didn't have such a glorious end. He was exiled after the revolution, shunted from country to country, and ended his life somewhere in Egypt.