I’ll appreciate every comment on my essay.
Thank in advance
Mohammad
A person visits several historic sites in his/her life. However, he/she thinks of one of them as the most important and admirable site. In my opinion, Parsa (or Perspolise, Takhtejamshid) is the most prominent historic site I have ever visited. In this essay, at first I will introduce Parsa. Thereafter, I will give my reasons for considering Parsa as the most significant sight I have ever seen.
Parsa means “The city of Persians”. It had been the ancient capital from where Achaemenians ruled Great Iran. It has been constructed in 500 B.C.E by the command of Darius the Great. According to what has been written in history, it took one hundred twenty years to construct this spectacular city. Alexander III of Macedon set this city on fire after his invasion to Iran, seemingly in retaliation for ruining Athena and the Temple of Airtimes by Xerxes, one of the Achaemenian kings.
The first reason for my interest in Parsa, is the joy and pride that I take in beholding such a great monument. It is really interesting to see a marvelous city which has been constructed at that very old time. You can realize that they were really developed people and they had the most technological instruments of their time. Aside from that, you get astonished to hear that Achaemenians have constructed this great city without being repressive toward labors. According to stone papers which has been discovered from ruins of Parsa during recent 70 years, it has turned out that they did not have slavery. All the workers, has their own wage. They were not only developed people in knowledge, but they were developed in moral principles. It is completely evident from Cyrus Cylinder, a universal declaration of human rights.
At the second place, you can see a meaningful harmony and art in their work. You get astounded by viewing the lithographs on the walls and mountains. As you are walking through the allies and going up staircases, you can imagine how beautiful this city had been before Alexander set it on fire.
Thirdly, there is something upsetting though formative about this city. You can sense how Iranians were powerful then. You ask yourself, why, why we are not as powerful as we were during that period. Why Persian Empire was collapsed? What has happened to this country and our ancestors during those years? What mistakes they made which led them to fail? You ask these questions over and over while you are visiting Parsa. You take pride though you get immersed in lots of questions. You somehow sink into sadness. However, there is something constructive. You ask yourself whether we can be powerful once again. What should we do? What can I do? In my opinion, the most knowledgeable nation is the most powerful nation as well. For instance, nowadays, United States is a superpower in the world. I think one reason for this fact, is that the amount of knowledge that they produce and use is more that other nations.
In conclusion, I know Parsa as the most important historic place that I have ever seen because it is a thought provoking Iranian heritage. I suggest visiting this place to all people, whether they are Iranian or not, because there are many things to be learnt for humanity by viewing this monument.
TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a professor and her student
