Izeh, a small city in Khuzestan Province

 

A historical map showing the ancient kingdom of Elam and its neighboring civilizations, including Sumer and Babylonia.

A long time ago, the area west of Isfahan, now called Khuzestan, was ruled by the Elamite Kingdom in ancient times. 

The Elamites, who are also recorded in the Bible, left traces from about 3,000 BCE and were a powerful force that actively interacted with Sumerian civilization and competed for regional hegemony.

The Elamites, recorded in the Bible as descendants of Shem, Noah's blessed son, were once a people with a brilliant golden age. 

However, their prosperous time was rejected by the god with eternal dominion whom they believed in, and vanished with their gods like dust in the wind. 

 "Go up, O Elam, lay siege, O Media; all the sighing she has caused I bring to an end. -Isaiah" 

 Although the identity of the descendants of this conquered and vanished civilization was forgotten, in the distant future, the descendants of Elam drove out those who had destroyed their sacred sites and capital under their alliance with the Persians. 

Although after the Persian Empire, the independent identity of "Elamites" is rarely found in literature, their traces and stories continue to be steadily excavated by historians and local people to this day.

The location of Izeh. It is located in Khuzestan Province..

Arrived at Izeh at dawn

Passing through Shahrekord, a highland area at an altitude of 2,000 meters called the "ceiling of Iran," the city of Izeh, located in the northeast of Khuzestan Province, was hidden among dry and barren mountains. 

The scenery viewed from this place, where cool winds blow in keeping with the basin topography, was like a fortress hidden in the mountains, and it is presumed that the mountains have served as walls for this small city since ancient times.

 There is a magnificent rock on the top of the mountain in this city

Long ago, sacred religious ceremonies took place here.

Just as the Goguryeo people of ancient Korean kingdoms did, mountains were sacred places for the ancient people here to ask their ancestors and gods in heaven for the prosperity and abundance of their people, and the mountains here were no different. 

The Elamites performed sacrifices here and left petroglyphs depicting their ritual practices at that time.

 The view of Izeh. It has a beautiful landscape surrounded by low mountains.

 The panoramic view of Izeh as the sun sets

 Though not as high as Shahrekord, the low mountains surrounding the city, viewed from the basin at an altitude of 700 meters, gave a different feeling from Uraman Takht which I had visited earlier

The red mountains reflected in the setting sunlight were surrounding the area in a dynamic manner, like water poured onto solid earth flowing toward lower ground pushed by winds from all directions. 

Below them, the air, quiet yet never still with wind, felt close enough to give the impression of touching the sky. Despite it being the middle of hot summer, a gentle breeze continuously flowed through the gaps in the window bars of my friend's house, which was shielded from the hot sunlight with thick clothes and curtains, cooling the heat. Thus, I fell into a sweet afternoon nap at my friend's house.

 The dessert I ate in Izeh. It was really excellent

 Like the wind in this place, my friend was full of the desire for freedom, wishing to someday leave for abroad and carve out a new life. 

 "Our family once had such an opportunity, but because of one greedy relative, we lost all our property and foundation and had to settle here." 

Reminiscing that life here seemed like a curse, my friend nevertheless said that their family always tried not to lose their smiles. 

 "That's the driving force that has kept our family going until now."

An ordinary mart. There were a lot of different products there.

The three of us work, but it's really hard to save up living expenses. Working here, we receive barely $50." 

 My friend, who has recently been looking into ways to teach Persian to people in distant countries through the internet, said that someday they would like to travel like me. 

"I love your travels and your life, and I hope it's a valuable journey. For some people, it's an opportunity that may never be given even once in a lifetime, no matter how desperately they want it."

 Dinner at a friend's house where Izeh lives

To my undeserving self, my friend's family welcomed me saying they were receiving a special guest and prepared a grand dinner. 

The meat I ate that day was the best quality I had eaten in Iran, and my friend's father and mother kept placing pieces of meat on my plate. 

 Despite my earnest protests that they should eat too, they continued to say they were full and urged me to eat the meat.

 Among the gifts I brought, my friend really liked the Pou doll. Despite its gloomy expression, the cute appearance of Pou seemed to really appeal to my friend. 

"It's a shame that you have to leave early, but if you come here again next time, I'll take you to Ahvaz."

 The bus terminal of Izeh. Although very small in scale, I was able to return to Isfahan from here.

Despite the late hour, my friend and their family came to the bus station and waved at me until the bus disappeared into the distance. 

I could faintly see my friend still waving even though they probably couldn't see me anymore.

Just as the time of the Elamites wasn't eternal, my time in Izeh was also fading toward its end. 

As there was no eternal prosperity, there would be no eternal meetings either. But nevertheless, there was prosperity in their history, and my time with the people here, though just half a day, was full of joy like their prosperity. 

Just as the Elamites wailed facing the end of their kingdom, I too quietly shed tears by the window. My friend's words about desperately wanting to leave in search of freedom, and the family who never lost their smiles. 

In difficult circumstances, they still didn't lose their smiles, perhaps dreaming of dreams they might face in a long and distant journey. With the desperate hope that their second revival would come, I prayed for them.

Here is some additional information and precautions:

• When activating your phone, be sure to ask if they can install a VPN for you. It will be a great help to you. Never forget this. If the employee is a very nice person, give them
• a small tip and then look for a paid VPN. Free VPNs are sufficient, but paid VPNs perform very well. 
• The Snapp app is almost essential for travelers. If you have a close local friend, ask for their help. It has all the necessary functions such as delivery, finding accommodation, calling taxis, etc 
• When calling a taxi with the Snapp app, drivers often cancel for intercity travel because the price is too low. Once a driver accepts your call, try to negotiate paying more with a Persian message. While there are drivers who will take you to your destination at the price suggested by the Snapp app, if you can't get a Snapp taxi for a long time, it wasn't bad to offer about 1.5 times the price via message. Even if you offer a slightly higher price, it is still very reasonable compared to travel in other countries. If all else fails, try finding taxi drivers directly and negotiate the price.