Shapur Cave, Bishapur

🧭What kind of place is it?

The cave mouth is about thirty metres wide, and the statue of Shapur is carved from a natural stalagmite column inside the cave itself. The statue is nearly seven metres tall and shows the Sasanian king standing; it is not a figure put together from separate pieces.

👀What you will see

• The seven-metre figure is carved from a natural stone column and stands at the cave entrance, so you see its scale beside the opening.
• The head of the statue survives, but both arms are damaged; not every part of the figure has come down intact.
• One of the two inscriptions at the entrance gives a translation of Shapur's inscription at Naqsh-e Rajab and is not the original ancient text.
• The second inscription describes the re-erection of the statue in the Pahlavi era and tells of its modern care.

💡Something interesting

The statue lay fallen for many years until the army set it upright again in 1957. The work took about six months, and at the same time an access path and steps of cut stone with an iron railing were built. The two inscriptions at the entrance relate to this work.

🎒Good to know before you go

• Getting from the foot of the mountain to the cave takes about two hours of hiking; plan the time and energy you need for the climb and the return, and bring water.