Taq-e-Bustan is a place in the mountains near Kermanshah in Iran. There is a famous relief in the mountains from the time of Shah Khusro II (Chosroes II) 590-628.
The lower part depicts a horseman, above which the king is depicted with the god Ahura Mazda crowning the king on the right and the goddess Anahita holding the crown and a jar on the other side.
In the 11th century, the image became the basis for Nizami's poems. His Khusrau and Shirin became a particularly popular subject of Persian literature.
In it, Anahita is seen as Shirin, the Christian wife of Khusrau with whom Farhad (Ahura-Mazda) falls in love. Farhin is a great master builder and sculptor who uses his arts to please his beloved.
The stories have been compared to the Arthurian legends with their love triangle between King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. There are beautiful illuminated manuscripts of them from the 15th and 16th centuries.
I am Maarten Verhees. The focus of my photographs is on the variation of architecture, animals and people. I try to capture the essence of local places in photographs... Read more…