Ganjnameh

Two rectangular panels are cut into the granite face of Mount Alvand above Hamadan, each carrying the same text three times in Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian: one is a proclamation of Darius the Great and the other of Xerxes, both opening with praise of Ahura Mazda and giving the king's titles and lineage. Because the meaning was forgotten for centuries the panels were assumed to be a coded guide to buried riches, which is where the name, treasure book, comes from. A waterfall drops beside them and the site sits at the head of a valley that Hamadan uses as a park, with a cable car running up the mountain, restaurants and picnic ground, so the inscriptions share their setting with a busy day-out area.

What you'll find

• Two trilingual rock panels - Darius and Xerxes in three scripts.
• The waterfall beside them - water dropping down the granite.
• The Alvand cable car - running up the mountain from the valley.
• The name story - the panels read for centuries as a treasure map.

When to go

April to October; the valley is snowbound in winter though the site stays accessible. Two hours. Weekdays are far quieter; Fridays and holidays fill the valley with picnickers.

Things to know

The setting is a commercialised park with stalls, restaurants and crowds, which sits oddly with the inscriptions. The panels are behind railings and weathered. Litter is a problem at busy times. The cable car queues are long on holidays.

Nearby

Hamadan city is below; the Avicenna mausoleum is in the centre.

Key facts