Domes
Openings for light.
Milad Vandaee (میلاد وندائی) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · mojtaba jabari — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Raki_Man — CC BY 3.0 · akhodadadi — CC BY 3.0 · akhodadadi — CC BY 3.0
The Palace of Ardashir Babakan, also known as the Atashkadeh, is a Sasanian palace on the slope of the mountain crowned by Qal'eh Dokhtar, near the town of Firuzabad in Fars Province, southern Iran, about 77 km south of Shiraz in a straight line. King Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire, built it in AD 224, two kilometres north of the ancient city of Gor, later renamed Peroz and then Firuzabad. It is part of the Sassanid Archaeological Landscape of Fars Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace has three domes and very thick walls, but its design suggests it was meant to display the king's majesty and receive guests rather than to defend. Huge sand-coloured stone walls and tall arches rise in front of a small pool, and round openings in the dome roofs let in shafts of light. In spring green fields around it fill with red poppies and yellow flowers. Visitors walk through the halls under the domes, watching the light fall from their openings, then around the ruins. The visit pairs well with nearby Qal'eh Dokhtar. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Iran and warns that British nationals risk detention, so check official guidance before making any plans. We could not confirm the current state of this site.
Openings for light.
Tall.
Red poppies.
Near Firuzabad, Fars Province, Iran
Spring.
Qal'eh Dokhtar.