The hook
A colossal mud-brick ziggurat rising from the plain of southwestern Iran, built by the little-known Elamite civilisation over three thousand years ago, one of the best-preserved stepped temple-towers left outside Mesopotamia.
01Why it's worth it
Long before the Persians, the Elamites ruled this corner of the ancient Near East, and around 1250 BC their king built a great sacred complex here centred on a ziggurat, a massive stepped pyramid of sun-dried and fired brick raised as a temple to their gods. Abandoned and buried for millennia, it was rediscovered in the 20th century remarkably intact, and it remains one of the few well-preserved ziggurats anywhere, its tiers and staircases still climbing above the flat Khuzestan plain, some bricks still bearing cuneiform inscriptions. Standing at its foot, dwarfed by a structure older than most of what we call ancient, is a powerful encounter with a civilisation most travellers have never heard of. It is remote and hot, out on the southwestern lowlands near the old city of Susa, and rewards those willing to make the detour.
02How to experience it
Visit in the cooler months, as the lowland heat is fierce, and take a guide or good background reading, since the site is stark and the Elamites are unfamiliar. Combine it with ancient Susa and the waterworks of Shushtar nearby. It is remote; check current travel advice and plan the logistics.