Merrit Hawkes is the American writer and Journalist who has traveled to Iran during the reign of Reza Shah, and visited the cities of Bushehr, Shiraz, Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, Qom, Tehran, and the northern parts of Iran.
She recounts her going to the top of the Abbasi Mosque’s minaret in her book “Persia: Romance and reality”: in order to see the repairs being carried out on the beautiful minaret that had started to crumble from the outer side of the mosque, we climbed its stairwell. Isfahan was under our feet with its dark colored houses, green trees, and the fertile plain surrounding it.
I was told that to better see the repairs, if possible, I should climb the dome of the minaret. I tried but my foot slipped. For a moment I imagined I had fallen down, amongst the people that seemed smaller than ants, and I saw one of those present smiling as a victorious smile. Without a doubt, he seemed me as spineless and incompetent as any other woman. I took off my shoes and climbed up quickly using a rope as thin as a wire, which a kind worker hung out for me.
Name Merrit Hawkes
Profession Journalist
Year of travel to Iran 1933
Name of Book Persia; Romance and Reality
