Set amidst the Mountains of Rahmat, or Mercy, Persepolis was built in 550 BCE and today its ruins are the most tangible reminder of Iran's pre-Islamic history. Structures such as the 'Gate of All Nations' once proclaimed the power and ideals of a realm Hegel called 'the world's first real empire, where many diverse peoples lived in unity under one universal ruler.

In 1971, the Shah's ostentatious commemoration of the 2500 th anniversary of the Persian Empire at these ruins infuriated moderates and mullahs alike, albeit for different reasons.

Zoroastrian symbols such as the Farohar adorn Persepolis' walls and the religion remained the regions dominant faith until the Arab invasions of 651 CE. This long history shaped Iranian Islam into something different from its Arabian counterpart. Zoroastrian concepts, such as heaven and hell, were also absorbd into Judaism and Christianity.

Though Iran's later rulers tried to cast the country in a strictly Islamic mold, today there is a resurgence of interest in Iran's pre-Islamic past.  See A Dying Faith

With the Arab invasions most Zoroastrians converted to Islam. But some went undergound, and some fled to India where they came to be known as Parsees. Yours truely is one of them.

Pir-e Harisht (left) is a good example of the 'fire' temples and shrines Iranian Zoroastrians built safely removed from sight. To the right is the inside of 'fire' temple. The fire, a symbol of purity, is kept burning in small and large sized afarganus, such as the one to the right-front of the picture.

Most of Iran's 60,000 Zoroastrians live in and around the desert city of Yazd, where President Khatemi is also from. Once persecuted, today they face better times. These pictures were taken at a Jashan, or feast, in the village of Sharifabad near Yazd. At left, a man prays holding his kusti, a holy woolen thread. At right, a priest prays from the avesta, the holy Zoroastrian book, surrounded by food and flowers, which are integral to any Zoroastrian occasion.

One of the more gory details of Zoroastrian life is that the dead are carried to special hilltops where they are left to be devoured by vultures and the elements. These dokhmas, or towers of silence, are falling out of use in Iran but in India people still cling to the practice. The dokma above, in Yazd, dates back almost 3000 years, when the practice was seen as natural and environmentally sound.