PARDIS
PARDIS, from the old Persian pairidaeza, the root of the word "paradise" itself.
I am Ali, and I've been photographing Iran since 1995 — my homeland, photographed across thirteen years, on film, one frame at a time.
I chose the name Pardis because in the Persian language, Pardis, Paradise — means a surrounded, walled garden. It felt like the right word for my country and my people: surrounded by violence, injustice, and a long fight for the most basic right of freedom, and still, underneath all of that, holding something worth calling paradise.
Right now, when the world hears the word "Iran," it hears war, sanctions, injustice, violence. That is not the whole story, and it is not the story I grew up inside. I want to remind people what Iranian hospitality feels like. What our culture actually is, underneath the headlines — Iran is an ancient, generous, and deep land. Twelve photographs are not enough to hold the depth of Iranian culture. No number would be. But I chose these architectural sites because they are visual and written proof — carved into stone and mudbrick — of an empire that valued justice, and of a people who honored beauty in everyday life as much as in the halls of kings. From the Achaemenid capital at Persepolis, to the Sasanian rock reliefs at Naqsh-e Rajab, to the mudbrick towers of Arg-e Bam along the Silk Road, to the Safavid bridges and bazaars of Isfahan — these sites span centuries of Iranian/Persian history. And alongside them, I wanted to include life as it's actually lived: a bazaar rooftop where ordinary people still gather to buy and sell, and a mosque door in Tabriz covered in hundreds of small hammered faces, each one different — because this show isn't only about kings and empires, it's about the actual people who lived underneath all that history, and are still living there today.
My entire Iran archive was shot on film, and are untouched, mostly medium format 6x6 and large format 4x5, the result of years of traveling around the country. The three Apadana Palace and Council Hall images were part of a project I worked on under the supervision of UNESCO, where I stayed on-site at Persepolis for a full year to capture the reliefs from the right angles at the right moments, following the rotation of the sun, and using additional lighting equipment to bring out the depth of the carvings.
I've gone to Burning Man with camp Youniversal in 2008, 2010, 2025, and 2026. This is the first time I'm showing this body of work here, and it's an honor to do so at Burning Man. The longer I spend in this community, the more I believe Burning Man's principles — radical hospitality, gifting, inclusion, leaving things better than you found them — aren't so different from the culture I was raised in. Maybe that's why it's always felt like Burning Man is home.
I camp at YOUniversal Teahouse (4:45 & D).I'd be honored if you visit and allowed our camp to treat you to some Iranian saffron-infused sherbets, while we chat about anything you want regarding this exhabit or about Iran.
Photo Descriptions
Persepolis, Fars, Iran
Persepolis, Fars, Iran Close-up of a bull-shaped capital, one of the massive stone bull figures that once crowned the tops of columns at Persepolis, ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. In the background, the surviving columns of the Apadana (audience hall) rise from the ruins, catching the last light of golden hour.
Large Format 6.12 Film, 2007
The Central Palace (Council Hall), Persepolis
Known as the "Tripylon" for its three gates, this small square palace sits at the center of the royal citadel, connecting the other palaces. Its eastern wall depicts 28 delegates from across the empire, each bringing tribute befitting their nation. A grand double staircase, carved with reliefs of Persian nobles and Median and Persian archers, leads up to the Apadana's courtyard — giving the hall its name as a gathering place for counsel and decision-making.
Large Format 4.5 Film, 2007
Apadana Palace, Persepolis, Fars, Iran
A fluted column base carved with a lotus-leaf pattern stands in the foreground, while two of the palace's slender columns rise against the sunset behind it — remnants of the 36 columns that once supported the Apadana's massive cedar roof, each towering over 19 meters high.
Large Format 6.12 Film, 2007
Naqsh-e Rajab, Fars, Iran — Equestrian Relief of Shapur I
Framed by a natural rock overhang, this Sasanian relief shows Shapur I mounted on a powerful horse, followed by nine figures — royal courtiers or family members, including the crown prince. A short tri-lingual inscription in Parthian, Greek, and Middle Persian identifies the central figure as Shapur.
Medium format 6x6 FIlm, 2007
Arg-e Bam, Kerman, Iran
Tiered mudbrick walls and towers of Arg-e Bam, the largest adobe structure in the world. Built up over centuries along the Silk Road, the citadel was largely destroyed in a 2003 earthquake and has since been under restoration.
Medium format 6x6 Film, 2001
Si-o-se-pol, Isfahan, Iran
Also known as the Allahverdi Khan Bridge, Si-o-se-pol ("Bridge of 33 Arches") was built between 1599 and 1602 under Shah Abbas I, the fifth ruler of Safavid Iran, as part of his ambitious transformation of Isfahan into the empire's new capital. Spanning the Zayanderud River, it remains one of the largest of Isfahan's historic bridges and served both as a crossing and as a dam, with a double row of arches carrying a pedestrian promenade above the water. It's still a popular gathering spot in the evenings, when the arches are lit and reflected in the river below — as captured here.
Medium format 6x6 Film, 2003
Qazin, Iran
Medium Format 6.6 Film, 2004
Tehran, Iran
Medium Format 6.6 FIlm, 2001
Qeshm Island, Hormozgan, Iran
A wooden fishing boat rests at anchor near the tide, its reflection mirrored on the still water at dusk, with the island's mangrove (hara) forest visible along the shoreline behind it.
Medium Formar 6.6 Film, 1998
Apadana Palace Stairs, Persepolis, Fars, Iran
Detail of the monumental staircase reliefs leading up to the Apadana, showing rows of carved guards and dignitaries along the balustrade — some depicted in conversation with one another, with the stone steps worn smooth by millennia of use.
Large Format 4.5 Film, 2007
Bazaar Rooftop, Isfahan, Iran
Glass domes set into the bazaar's mudbrick roof allow daylight to filter down into the covered market below while keeping rain out — a traditional architectural solution for lighting Isfahan's historic covered bazaar.
135mm film, 1998
Mosque Door, Saheb-ol-Amr Mosque, Tabriz, Iran
Detail of the ornate metal door of the Saheb-ol-Amr Mosque (also known as the Shah Tahmasp Mosque), covered in repeated sun-face medallions. The mosque, whose name means "Master of Command" — a title of the last Twelver Shia Imam — sits on the east side of Saheb Abad Square in Tabriz. It was originally built in 1636 by the Safavid king Tahmasp I, then destroyed by the Ottoman ruler Murad IV after he invaded Tabriz in 1638, and later rebuilt following an earthquake. The elaborate metal door decorations themselves are believed to date to the Qajar era, making them a later addition to the historic structure. Today the mosque houses a museum of Quran and manuscripts.
Medium Format 6.6 FIlm, 2001