Human Faces Part 21: Where is God?

Why is it that for centuries – or rather thousands of years – the head has served as the motif for the side of a coin? And why has this changed in the last 200 years? This section of the series ‘Human Faces’ tackles the question whether the commandment ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image’ applies to coins as well.

Human Faces Part 20: An Ancient Power Woman

Why is it that for centuries – or rather thousands of years – the head has served as the motif for the side of a coin? And why has this changed in the last 200 years? This chapter looks at a woman of exceptional strength in her day.

Welcome to Iran! Part 9: The Tower of Babel

Where did you think the best-preserved ziggurat was – in Ur or Uruk? Neither is correct. If you want to know what the Tower of Babel looked like you need to travel to Chogha Zanbil. We do exactly that before we visit Shush, the ancient Susa.

Welcome to Iran! Part 8: The commemoration day of Fatima Masumeh

You could say – although that would be quite daring with regard to historical and political correctness – that the Shiites are the Catholics of Islam. They practise a very human form of Islam, one that is positively overcrowded with saints. One of them is Fatima Masumeh, whose commemoration day we witness today.

Welcome to Iran! Part 7: In the land of the Medes

This part of our journey brings us to a place that gives every admirer of Antiquity a thrill of anticipation: Ekbatana. That the Aechemenid Bisotun and the Median Nushidjan turned out to be much more exciting, however, was one thing we couldn’t have anticipated.

Human Faces Part 16: The Fratricide of Caracalla

Already the Roman emperors suffered from psychosomatic illnesses. This chapter of the series ‘Human Faces’ looks at why Caracalla was given sleepless nights by the assassination of his brother and what he did about that.

Welcome to Iran! Part 6: Of clay fortresses, mausoleum towers and Khosrow II

This episode is like a road movie. We are driving, and driving, and driving. And when we’re not driving we are visiting a clay fortress, way too many mausoleum towers, and the reliefs of Khosrow II in Bisotun.

Mausoleum of Suleiman the Magnificent’s heart discovered

He is considered as one of the most powerful rulers of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Suleiman I, nicknamed The Magnificent. In the south of Hungary, archaeologists have now found what appears to be the mausoleum where his heart had been buried.

Welcome to Iran! Part 5: At the tomb of Jude the Apostle

For Armenian Christians Jude the Apostle is of enormous importance. It is to him that the Church owes its independence from Rome. In this episode we visit his tomb. But before that we drive to Ardabil, where the founder of the Safavid dynasty is buried.

Welcome to Iran! Part 4: The slaughtered lamb, or: just another day in Iran

Just like everybody else, Iranians like their time off. To pass this time, there are local recreational areas. We visited one of them: Kandovan, the Iranian Göreme. Part 4 brings you little history and numismatics but a lot of Iranian everyday life.