The Darwish Khan Rock Garden and the Story Behind Its Creation (16 photos) + 1 video)

East of the Iranian city of Sirjan lies a stunning place, reminiscent of an alien landscape.





In the middle of the endless desert lies this incredible garden of stone trees. Hundreds of tall, dead trees stretch far across the sand, and from the branches of each hang stones, large and small, some weighing over nine kilograms. It's a man-made paradise for seekers of the strange, and the sight is truly mesmerizing.



The garden's history is no less astonishing. Its creator was a deaf-mute landowner named Darwish Khan Esfandiarpour. Beginning in 1961, he hung each of these stones on thick wire and large ropes from withering branches. This was a silent protest against the agrarian reform plans implemented by the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, which deprived him of part of his land, including his original fruit-bearing garden. Over the years, the garden acquired new meaning, and with each significant event in his life, a new tree was added.





Darwish Khan Esfandiarpour died in 2007 at the age of ninety and was buried in his stone garden. Although he is no longer here to tell the story behind the symbolic stones, the spectacle is worth the long journey and the opportunity to see the silent scene with your own eyes.



Darvish Khan's unique life and his works inspired Iranian director and screenwriter Parviz Kimiavi to create the film "Stone Garden." In 1976, the film won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.



Three decades later, Kimiavi reunited with the hero of his film to make a sequel to this extraordinary story. The new documentary is called "The Old Man and His Stone Garden."



Only about six thousand people visit this place annually, so tourists are likely to be alone here, listening only to the creaking of the ropes holding the stone fruits, the beating of their hearts, and their own thoughts.





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