Takht-e Soleyman Things to Do Tips by Sambawalk

Bijar city near Takht-e Soleyman

Bijar is a city located in Kurdistan Province of Iran. Its estimated population as of 2006 is 46,153. With an elevation of 1883.4 meters, Bijar is called the Roof of Iran.

The majority of the inhabitants of Bijar are Shia Kurds. Bijar is known internationally for its elegant and ancient carpet and rug designs. The term bijar could be a variation of bajar (i.e city in Kurmanji Kurdish) and the complete name of the city is Bijar-e Garrus (city of Garrus). Among other suggested etymology for bijar are bid-zar (land of willow tree) which is linguistically unlikely.

I came here after my visit to Takht-e Soleyman and the taxi drive made a circuit drive around. It was good.

Zendan-e Soleiman (Soloman Prison)

An very obvious conical peak which dominates the valley landscape is a prison on top of a conical peak. It is about 1.5 km west of Nostrabad. Once it too had a fortified, magical crater lake, like Takht-e Soleyman, till one side of the cone collapsed.

Diving in Takht-e Soleyman

Diving in the crater lake

Takht-e Soleyman

Takht-e Soleyman is an archaeological site in West Azarbaijan, Iran. It lies midway between Urumieh and Hamadan, very near the present-day town of Takab, and 400 km (250 miles) west of Tehran.

The originally fortified site, which is located on a crater rim, was recognized as a World Heritage Site in July 2003. The citadel includes the remains of a Zoroastrian sanctuary built during the Sassanid period, and partially rebuilt during the Ilkhanid period. According to legend, the temple housed one the three "Great Fires" or "Royal Fires" (see Fire Temple). Sassanid rulers are said to have journeyed there to humble themselves at the fire altar before ascending the throne.

Folk legend relates that King Solomon used to imprison monsters inside the 100 m deep crater of the nearby Zendan-e Soleyman "Prison of Solomon". Another crater inside the fortification itself is filled with spring water; Solomon is said to have created a flowing pond that still exists today. Nevertheless, Solomon belongs to Semitic legends and therefore, the lore and namesake (Solomon's Throne) should have been formed following Islamic conquest of Persia. After the Conquest, the Arabs sought to destroy anything Zoroastrian or Persian, as these things were deemed to be contrary to Islam. In order to avoid this, the Persians changed the names of many sites and monuments to save them from destruction.

Its location is dramatic, up in the mountain at over 2,600m with a large volcanic lake in the centre. The enclosing walls, built in early Saanid times to honohur this place, whic is the home to one of the four important sacred fires of Zoroastrianism.'

Admission IR4,000 (May 2008). There is no public transport. You mneed to charter a taxi from Zanjan or nearby town.

Museum