The Fire Temples Of Iran & Thousand-Year-Old Flames | Timeline

At the heart of an ancient nation, sacred

fire

birds that have not been extinct for more than 2,000

year

s, their mysteries inspired the faith of millions and are at the very root of what Christians, Muslims and Jews believe today, If I must find it. I will have to undertake a journey of two

thousand

five hundred miles, a journey that will take me behind a lifted veil of Islamic fundamentalism to a place where time and history began I am David Adams I am a photojournalist and my work takes me This journey to some of the remote corners of the world now takes me to a place where many have been afraid to visit Iran, now that Iran is not strictly at the ends of the earth, but because it has been effectively out of reach of many Westerners for so long.

For a long time it remains a land shrouded in mystery. My journey begins in the Iranian capital, Tehran, where I discover one of its deadliest amateur sports. Walking recklessly into the valley of death. This is a daily game of chicken between determined flesh and relentless steel. There are police. and traffic lights, but no one seems to pay much attention to it, so for extreme conditions it is better to show extreme confidence in finding myself still alive. I go to see the sights and discover that some Western visitors are still not welcome. These were the walls of the United States Embassy.

In Tehran, behind them, a group of revolutionaries held 52 Americans hostage for more than a

year

. Graffiti still proclaims Iran's hatred of the United States, a country they call the Great Satan and everywhere the face of Ayatollah Khomeini, father of the Islamic Revolution, while strict Islamic law can still imprison a woman who commits forget to cover your head or whip a man who drinks a beer that law is now less strictly observed old Iran is reimagining from behind the fundamentalist veil an ancient land with roots dating back to the beginning of time, centuries ago Here Jesus was born a man whose genius still shapes our world his name was Zarathustra we called him Zoroaster the

fire

was his fascination in its flickering mystery he saw things few had seen before a single Supreme Being a heaven for the good and a hell for the evil , a Divine Savior, and a Last Judgment Jews and Christians have long embraced versions of these beliefs that are still at the center of our civilization today, so for me this is both a spiritual and physical journey as I I head to the most remote corners of Iran.

In my search for Zoroaster, the eternal flame, my route takes me northwest, towards Elbrus, a long finger of mountains on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Here I hope to take a bus into the deeper mountains. They always have problems with pronunciation. You already know. the high end of all those words, everything you know because it doesn't exist in English, is very difficult for me. I have seen a young English teacher from Tehran, but how can I tell what time the bus leaves other than his The English machine was also a bodyguard for an Iranian president, not a bad combination of skills, so I hire him as my translator, ok, bus Meera and Gaza Han, sir, so I said at three o'clock, yes, it's three hours away, okay, let's go have a drink, the old man.

The ticket seller is totally blind but he seems to know where everything is except the bus. Can you ask him what that is? The bus station is not exactly packed with people waiting to start a trip. Maybe they know something we don't know. eat the middle, yes that's right, my suspicions are confirmed when even the ticket seller himself stops waiting, it seems that we are in for a long wait, so one hour is about 30 or 40 kilometers, yes, how long will it take? you go three hours to walk yeah, what are you an olympic sprinter? I think it's a better day of walking, well maybe something will come and we'll get it up.

Yes, it's a really peaceful place in the world. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, an Islamic revolutionary nowhere, they may have been able to enforce Quranic law, but they can't make the buses arrive on time, then just when we're ready to give up hope, the mountains echo with the sweet sound of our salvation is not a bus just a kind truck driver who takes pity on us wayward travelers, this being dragged by the back of his truck is nothing fancy, but at least we are mobile again, it is It feels great to be moving again as we move forward.

To the northwest, deep in the Elbrus Mountains, one of the great barriers of Central Asia, some of these pigs are more than 10,000 feet high, or 3,000 meters. For centuries, Elbrus has been a refuge for those who wanted to remain independent of the cities on the plains. I have also been a sanctuary for anyone who wants to hide from the Authority or simply want to be different and these mountains have also been a place from which to plan chaos. My journey is about to take me to the lair of assassins and the stronghold of a very dangerous person. man, finally Afshin and I are reunited with the friends we have come to see so far, while Razer is an expert mountaineer, his mentor Aziz is a legend, one of the four Iranians who conquered Mount Everest, what better people to have for my next mission.

Checked and packed, we set out for the place whose name means Eagles Teaching Allenwood Island is a rocky skyscraper that rises 3,000 feet in the air, that is, 1,000 meters, perhaps it is just its extraordinary shape, but as you climb its slopes you begin to understand why some people believe that certain places on earth possessed amazing powers a challenge for the toughest climbers but for an army their mission is impossible if you are looking for a natural fortress Alamut is a fairly difficult climb but in the Middle Ages anyone did tunnels in these mountains They would have found it much more difficult because they would have been wearing full armor because the man who lived on top of this mountain was the most feared in the entire Middle East and even beyond his name was Hassan Al Sabah the elder From the mountains and from Alamode he launched a reign of terror in the 12th century, the Turks ruled Iran and the crusaders took Jerusalem to fight these invaders Hasan invented a new weapon political assassination his followers killed prince generals and the grand vizier, even a king crusader, no one was safe from Hassan al-sabah tradition says that he acquired such powers over his followers by drugging them with hashish, as a result a new word entered the English language in Arabic they were called hashishin, we call them assassins and there is another story if Hassan al-sabah wanted to impress a visitor, but he only said the word and the fanatical killers jumped from Alamut to their deaths on the rocks below.

I thought I would see what it was like in a more controlled way, of course, with a knife and since it is a veteran repellent for sailors AB before they agreed to help me they wanted to know if I had done this before I told them yes, but what I didn't tell them is which was a long time ago in high school when I was just 18 so the difficulty of jumping off a cliff like this is a castle that's 800 years old or probably more and it's all rubble on top and at any time the entire edge It could fall and fall on top of us.

As we add sail down, but with a little testing we should be able to determine if it will hold or not. Thanks, it's like an Iranian tailor made it. I guess, unfortunately for the killers, they didn't have all of this. team and thank God I have a razor instead of Hassan al-sabah so he is happy that I am doing now well, shaky I always knew that one day I would reach the limit while descending from Allenwood I must admit that the thoughts of drugged The Assassins hurtling toward oblivion flash through my mind, but what worries me most are the stones of this ruined fortress hurtling toward my head.

I think about doing this. Is it somewhere between fear and absolute euphoria? And now I reached the bottom where hundreds of assassins gathered there. friend it warms your blood do this I recommend it for medicinal purposes thanks guys fantastic that night we light a fire in a cave from which it is said that Hassani Sabbah once led his terror campaigns aziz sings songs about the mountains and as darkness falls the scene keeps the ghosts and as I look at the fire I remember why I am here tomorrow. I return to the source of a burning mystery and the place where Zoroaster first lit sacred

flames

further to the northwest of Iran, the snows of Central Asia sweep across the mountains as winter temperatures fall below zero now I head alone in a personal mission to a place called hall tuck The legend of Solomon's throne says that it was here that King Solomon struck the ground with his staff instantly steaming water gushed from the ground and the Queen of Sheba was able to take a hot bath but there is another legend also next to this thermal leg.

I find the ruins of a Zoroastrian temple. This is one of the places where the great mystic Zoroaster is supposed to have been born in this well some time ago. One of the most sacred fires of Zoroastrianism once burned maternal

flames

presented by priests called magic flames of Maggie, because that is where the word magic flames that will never be extinguished comes from and it is here, in the so-called throwing of a Jewish king, where the myths of religions. It was from here two

thousand

years ago that the three wise men set out in search of a newborn child, guided by a star.

The star took them to Bethlehem. There they found a Christian son of God and a great Prophet of Islam, Jesus, but later on the road I go back another thousand years this is the biblical land of Nod where Cain killed Abel the more I travel the further back in time it seems I am going to the beginning of time itself in fact somewhere around here is supposed to be the place where it began time the Garden of Eden, but the facts don't seem to match my expectations, a glimpse of paradise, perhaps a garden where Adam and Eve once frolicked in a perfect world, not this arid, windswept desert.

I feel disappointed and then I turn a corner and see this. What a town, it's a town car of living rock, the home of the Iranian troglodytes eons ago, these strange conical shapes were formed by lava spewed by an erupting volcano and on and out of these rocks they carved their homes, that's why it's called Candy Van the word. means the place is made something out of Spielberg what an unlikely looking paradise the last place you'd expect to find a Garden of Eden it's time for me to take some pictures it's pretty quiet in Canavan said the river that feeds the Garden of Eden is supposed to it flows through here, but I don't see any river and I definitely don't see any garden as I walk.

I am fascinated by the fairy tale feel of this place. I was told that people came to Canavan because there are no snakes here in the Garden now. The legend of Eden is winding down, but I'm curious to know what's behind those walls. I'm David, thank you. Yes, Iranians are incredibly hospitable and constantly invite me to their private homes and that's how I met Mr. Hashim, could you be a much younger man? Ask them how sure you are and this is Mecca like this baba aha baba my men have been Baba your father he was great hey Joss dick check your charm hey darling brand mark horny I don't understand Oh dinner oh right yeah that That would be great, okay, I think mr.

Hashim invites me to dinner, so that night I return with my guide F Shane and mr. Hashim Slade on a big feast, so how is this man? He invited some shepherds to meet me, Musa and Rahim, so it's not long before the conversation turns to us having more sheep than anywhere else and then no ladies present. The conversation takes a rather masculine turn. Does he have a girlfriend? No, would you like to have a girlfriend? You ask a lot of questions about his girlfriend. And you? Do you have someone? Know? It's difficult for me because I travel a lot.

I know I travel maybe nine months a year, so no woman would tolerate him not seeming convinced and then the big surprise isn't just pastors and musicians. Musa plays a six-stringed instrument called arena while Raheem plays sauna. Shepherd's Flu I never knew exactly what they were singing about. I wanted to ask when they were done, but they have other plans. Whoa, whoa, at dawn. I rise early along with the rest of Devon's relatives as the flocks are driven to pasture and people. Continuing with another day's business I may not have found the Garden of Eden, but I am getting closer to the real Iran, but if I want to deeply explore its spiritual soul, I must go further.

I am about to drive to a beautiful city where I have an appointment with the fighting warriors of Isfahan. Now I head south through a country that has been well traveled by some of the greatest men in history Alexander the Great Genghis Khan Marco Polo they have all passed through here and now David Adams and Ashy our language is not Arabic, It is completely different with the sounds of the Arabic language, yes, but we use part of the article. Do you think it is a difficult language to handle? No, no, it's very easy tolearn. No, while we're driving.

Afshin tries his best to teach me some of his own language, Farsi, so, well, I'd like to know how to order a beer, but I can't get a beer in this country. Murderer, if I'm going into someone's house, what's the correct greeting mabashi hers was a bore Timothy Moser Hamilton's language has never been my strong suit my Farsi is terrible her English is excellent but I wonder what it's like in Australia no? come with me the raw prawns sun don't come well the raw prawns don't t in the roll for raw through the roll of it like it's a shrimp that's not cooked, yes, okay, Rob Roy, yes, don't tell the rule, prawn with me, sun, sunrise, call, come, come, the thing, problem with me, son, you know what it means.

It's like you're not kidding me, you know someone is joking with you while we're trashing each other's languages. We arrived at one of the most magnificent places in Iran, Holy Assam. The city of his father is the best nest for jihad. Iranians say Esfahan is half the world and on my first morning here I am inclined to agree that no other city in Iran compares to it, perhaps none in the entire Islamic world. It is found in the very heart. of the country and at the heart and soul of Iranian civilization, while Shakespeare was a struggling playwright and Sir Walter Raleigh had just set foot in Virginia, Shah Abbas was transforming Isfahan into the new imperial capital of Iran, he designed it around a huge Central Square that remains one of the largest squares in the world on the surface little has changed in its bazaars.

Artisans still beat copper balls as they have done for centuries in Esfahan. I say goodbye to a white glow. He must return to his English students in Tehran somehow. It's good, I want to experience the greatest glory of Hans for myself. I've seen my fair share of wonders in my travels around the world, but the Aman Mosque fills me with absolute awe. It was completed in 1638, took 26 years to build, and remains one. of the most perfect fusions of architecture and beliefs in the world its acoustics are so good that its imams could preach to the large crowds here long before the invention of the microphone welcome to the zoo kana the name means the house of power approximately four thousand years ago men Iranians have joined a Sakana to prove their virility and get closer to God.

This is not a gym that you can't just walk in and sign up for. The happy asp

iran

ts will spend at least a month observing, meditating and deciding if they are made of the right stuff. At first, Sue Khanna seemed to be adding to the aerobic circus acts and trying to get as dizzy as possible. It really was a very ancient way of life before the days of standing armies. It was zucchini that transformed peasants into soldiers. It is actually an Islamic version of martial arts, the trainer is also their spiritual leader as they do their training, he sings verses from Shannara, an epic poem celebrating the exploits of a mythical Iranian Superman, violent with a spiritual climax as the trainer marks his hypnotic rhythm, they take turns performing a feat.

Made famous by Sufi mystics The doubts of the whirling dervishes Sofie believe that while dancing their souls leave their body and travel to God and what is all this that builds up for Iranian style wrestling? Maybe I've been watching too much wrestling on TV, but after all the warm-ups, the prevailing wrestling seems to be a bit of an anti-climax, that is until I'm in these, ok, the message is clear, this is the point at which that I am in serious danger of making a fool of myself and so it will be. It's even more embarrassing if I can't wear these Iranian fighting suits.

Iranian colors. My new friend's name is. The movement helps me, but it's tight. Too cold last night. Good burger. Okay, when we enter the ring. I pray that Motion is not my opponent but of course he is, he is waiting for death so I am facing a man who has been wrestling since he was 5 years old, well I have been a wrestling spectator for about 15 minutes, yes. but for some inexplicable reason I'm not rolling on the floor maybe they don't want to embarrass me there's a problem obviously I've committed a terrible violation of etiquette but after only a few minutes I'm faced with one of the four hand fighting champions the referee literally throws in the towel and declares the game tied and I never found out what I did wrong the next day the movement invites me to another right-wing tradition to get to that we have to cross this bridge but no It is not enough to cross the bridge, we have to enter and there we find a house of tea.

Here retired wrestling champions spent the day telling stories of past triumphs. It makes you very strong, but I couldn't lift it, but you can do it very. well, when our tea comes up, I found out I have to learn to drink it again Iranian style and you swallow it well, keep it warm on your tongue, do that, damn it, just when I master the tea drinking the dreaded prostitute, it comes up, I feel that the caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland this is tobacco I don't smoke you there is an old Iranian saying if you want to find God by looking for a prostitute but I suspect there is no truth to it this makes me feel decidedly sick start and fill green I need a few minutes to recover from the hook, but its smoke has reminded me of my search before leaving.

I have one more stop left to make the climb. It is a difficult climb but the view is worth it and once again I feel the presence of Zorro aster these are the ruins of an ancient temple once again taking me to a time before Islam where the sacred flames once burned tomorrow I headed towards the source of that fire a fire that has not been extinguished for thousands of years. has an appointment with the town of the flame further southeast of Isfahan, in the heart of Iran, are the ruins of Persepolis, ancient capital of the powerful Persian Empire.

Persepolis is actually its Greek name in ancient Farsi, it was called Parsa two thousand four hundred years ago. Pather had running water and an effective drainage system and not to mention one of the largest libraries in the world. From here you could send a letter to the ends of the earth until Alexander the Great destroyed Parsa in the 3rd century BC, you know, I always have. I wanted to come to Persepolis, I was a child. I used to read about Alexander and what the Greeks did when they came here, but walking through these columns you can get an idea of ​​what this place must have been like when they're 60 70 feet and the roof was on top of that, it's just Mind-blowing, actually Persepolis or Plot was also a major center of the Zoroastrianism state belief, which is the real reason I'm here.

The naked party is a group of living Zoroastrians worshiping at the tomb of an ancient Persian emperor Darius the Great is a sign of a thaw in fundamentalist Iran. They were prevented from doing this until very recently. Thank you so much. Welcome to, of course, after two hundred and five thousand years ago, because five hundred years ago, yes, Sister Imani, it will be so. It always continues and here, as you see, this strange winged figure is the sacred symbol of Zoroaster, it is God and as always the center of his worship is fire. Could you explain to me why you burn fire every time you pray?

You see all this. We must turn. towards the light there is no difference there is no sun we can stand where the sun if there is no sun hitting the fire and B we have towards the light we are standing like there should be rays of fire from rays of sun of anything towards the light the light sets stand and pray because we believe that brightness brings happiness in life because of that, yes, I finally found the flame people, but if I want to see the ancient flame itself, I must go further east, there I will find the original fire . illuminated so many years ago by Zoroaster I want to travel through this country like Marco Polo and the ancient silk merchants did.

It has to be on a camel. My route takes me to the desert along the ancient Silk Road between China and the West. We are the big ones. caravans of camels once carried the fortunes of men on their backs if Marcopolo were alive today I would find this valley unchanged as I travel through these vast primordial spaces I have almost forgotten that the 21st century exists and then I arrive at my destination it is called chat check a group of buildings embedded in a huge mountain this is the end of my journey this is where I will find the sacred flame check-check is one of the most important of the entire Zoroastrian tribe, anyone who enters must be purified, so I I wash properly.

My shoes at the door and in the sanctuary and there before me is the flame that I have come here to see. Around me are the worshipers. I don't understand the words, but in their faces I see something that doesn't need translation. now I behold a fire that has been burning for nearly two and a half thousand years, the burning flame of the fire that begins the flame in an ancient line of descent from that first fire of Zoroaster is never extinguished. I am looking at your gift from God and as I look I am reminded of the man who first conceived of those values ​​that we still hold sacred long before the dawn of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

It was Zoroaster who first saw a single Supreme Being, a struggle between good and evil, a savior, a Last Judgment, a beginning. and an end and everything rose in a flame, the flame in which I now look, a flame so eternal that it will burn to the ends of the earth.