The Persian literary monthly Bokhara paid tribute to German Iranologist Heidemarie Koch, author of “Persepolis, Shiny Capital of the Persian Empire”, during a ceremony at the Mahmud Afshar Foundation in Tehran on Thursday.
Heidemarie Koch smiles during the ceremony in Tehran on May 29, 2014. Archaeologist Guntram Koch, who is Heidemarie’s husband, is also seen in the photo.
Speaking at the ceremony, Heidemarie Koch, a professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Marburg, talked about her interest in archaeology and the history of Iran.
She said that she was a teacher of mathematics but became familiar with archeology when she married Guntram, who was studying archaeology at university.
Her interest in archaeology led her to study in that field and then she learned Persian and began her studies about Iran.
“It took a long time for me to travel to Iran and see Persepolis. When I was asked if what I saw was like what I read about Iran, I was happy to say yes. I visited Persepolis several times afterwards but still I like it,” she added.
The other Iran 