0:00:31 > 0:00:33You drove for miles in the desert
0:00:33 > 0:00:36and, suddenly, you see this forest of columns coming out
0:00:36 > 0:00:39very high to the sky.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43And next to it, this village, town -
0:00:43 > 0:00:47which was created for the occasion - of tents,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50and that was already a fairy-tale story.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56It was a perfect set-up for a James Bond plot.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59It was so extravagant.
0:00:59 > 0:01:01It was so exclusive.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05It was the budget from Switzerland for two years
0:01:05 > 0:01:07which they spend in two days.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09It was big, big, big.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Security was everywhere, yes, machine gun on every corner.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14When you have all the heads of states,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16I mean, yes, so much responsibility.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Historically and politically,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23it's the only time where everyone met.
0:01:23 > 0:01:27You had the East, the West,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30the developed countries, the underdeveloped countries,
0:01:30 > 0:01:34the communist countries, the monarchies.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Everyone was there.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The party is a bit like a debutantes' ball.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41You know, it's basically a coming out.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Iran is coming.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45You know, the idea was, I think, that,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49"Oh, you know, we want to join the top tier of nations with a bang."
0:01:49 > 0:01:51But it was the wrong bang.
0:01:52 > 0:01:58If you spend hundreds of millions, you have to answer to somebody.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01One day, you pay.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30We may be sitting in on a television first this morning.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34The heads of state are about to arrive in Persepolis, Iran,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38to help celebrate the 2,500th anniversary
0:02:38 > 0:02:41of the founding of what was once called the Persian Empire,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44where we have Barbara Walters. Barbara...
0:02:44 > 0:02:48There's so much that one should understand about this event,
0:02:48 > 0:02:51both historically and in terms of modern times,
0:02:51 > 0:02:52and I thought I'd try to give you
0:02:52 > 0:02:55the who, what, where, how and why right now.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Who?
0:02:57 > 0:03:00Well, our host is the Imperial Majesty Shahanshah,
0:03:00 > 0:03:05which means "King of Kings", Shahanshah of Iran, Mohammad Reza.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08He's been the Shah since 1941.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10He's one of the richest men in the world.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14This country is a constitutional monarchy. The Shah has full power.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17He appoints the prime minister, he can dissolve the parliament,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20he controls the army, he can declare war,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23he can conclude peace treaties, he controls the press.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Very little criticism of him is allowed.
0:03:26 > 0:03:28His word is, indeed, the law.
0:03:29 > 0:03:36I have this firm belief that I have a mission to accomplish.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37And I believe in God.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42This is why I say I think that I have a divine command
0:03:42 > 0:03:44of doing what I'm doing.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48And this, in addition to the special relationship
0:03:48 > 0:03:53between the Persian people and their king,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57that makes it a very special relationship
0:03:57 > 0:04:00that maybe some other people could not understand.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16TRANSLATION:
0:06:25 > 0:06:26- NEWSREEL:- For the first time,
0:06:26 > 0:06:28we see the new Shah arriving at Parliament House
0:06:28 > 0:06:30to take over the reins of office
0:06:30 > 0:06:32in succession to his abdicated father.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35Shahpur Mohammad Reza, the former crown prince,
0:06:35 > 0:06:36now occupies the Peacock Throne.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38The new Shah has had to provide evidence
0:06:38 > 0:06:41that he'll display a less pro-German attitude
0:06:41 > 0:06:42than his deposed predecessor.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The ex-Shah of Persia exploited his people
0:06:45 > 0:06:47until his own coffers were filled to overflowing.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50The new Shah has no easy task ahead of him.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Iran is likely to remain much in the news.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58Who is here today?
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Well, 69 heads of state, and it's quite a list.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Either the heads themselves or their representatives.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The list includes one emperor, eight kings,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09five queens, 15 presidents,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13five emirs, four ruling princes and dukes,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16one royal princess, two governor generals,
0:08:16 > 0:08:18two heirs apparent, four junior princes,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21three vice presidents, including Vice President Agnew,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25four prime ministers, seven sheikhs, and one wife of a president,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and that's everything but a partridge in a pear tree.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46THUNDERCLAP
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Ahura Mazda was the circle of light, the god of light.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07And Ahriman was the devil.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Friend and enemy...
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Intellectuals had been arguing since the late 19th century
0:12:14 > 0:12:17that the reason for colonialism,
0:12:17 > 0:12:21the reason for Iran's weakness,
0:12:21 > 0:12:22is Islam.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26When the Shah's father and his ministers took over,
0:12:26 > 0:12:31most of them were educated in Western institutions.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36They were adamant about modernity, westernisation,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39as well as going back to ancient roots.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42So, culture, or cultural revival,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46was part of a larger agenda of secularising Iran.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49MAN SINGS:
0:13:20 > 0:13:21Throughout his reign,
0:13:21 > 0:13:26the Shah was very conscious of his father's legacy,
0:13:26 > 0:13:32but also I think he wanted to distinguish himself from his father
0:13:32 > 0:13:36in the sense that, "I can do this better".
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I never saw him in exile.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44I was exchanging letters.
0:13:44 > 0:13:48He will never try to really tell me what to do.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51Only one recommendation.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Don't be afraid of anything, ever.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57But it's not possible.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01I mean, physically, I'm not afraid of anything, ever.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03Death doesn't mean anything for me.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08I have seen it so many times right in front of myself and my eyes.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11And I know that the day will come.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14When the day comes, nothing will stop it.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19But mentally, constantly you are afraid of something.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- NEWSREEL:- Attention is focused once again on the Middle East,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24where events in Iran have taken a dramatic double twist.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Forced to flee his palace in Tehran,
0:15:26 > 0:15:28the Shah and his queen arrive in Rome
0:15:28 > 0:15:30after an alleged attempt by the Imperial Guard
0:15:30 > 0:15:32to arrest Dr Mosaddegh
0:15:32 > 0:15:35and a refusal by the Shah to dissolve parliament
0:15:35 > 0:15:36at Mosaddegh's request.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43I had not abandoned hope.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46My heart was light.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51It took only two days before the people called me back.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Until '53,
0:16:10 > 0:16:15my life was a succession of pain...
0:16:16 > 0:16:19..and suffering and humiliation.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21CHEERING
0:16:25 > 0:16:28RAUCOUS CHEERING
0:16:32 > 0:16:34So, he comes back in 1953,
0:16:34 > 0:16:40knowing very well that this was a foreign-engineered coup d'etat
0:16:40 > 0:16:42in his name, um...
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Knowing very well, that, you know,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48he is coming into a country that, essentially, does not want him.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52So, what does he have to do as a politician? There are two ways.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56One way would be trying again to be the people's monarch
0:16:56 > 0:16:59within, again, a context that was still in flux,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02there's a lot of radicalism, a lot of disenchantment, right?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Or ruling with a strong hand.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09And the Shah, with increasing funds through the oil revenues,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13with increasing confidence in his alliance with the United States,
0:17:13 > 0:17:17he established a militarised security state,
0:17:17 > 0:17:21trying to find out how I can keep myself in office as a monarch.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38MAN SINGS IN FRENCH
0:18:17 > 0:18:20Mr Alam was very efficient.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23I think it was his character to get it done.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26He found the simplest way to do it,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28to go to a professional
0:18:28 > 0:18:33to do the tents, to do the food, to do the catering, the servants...
0:18:33 > 0:18:38# I'm going to Maxim's
0:18:38 > 0:18:42# To lose myself in dreams... #
0:18:42 > 0:18:47TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:19:17 > 0:19:21TRANSLATION:
0:19:43 > 0:19:48TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Cyrus the Great has this sort of religious-political value.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19He's ostensibly in the Koran, he's definitely in the Bible.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23The Greeks love him, the Persians clearly valued him a lot.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25I mean, he's one of the few that has a tomb...
0:20:25 > 0:20:29It's the one tomb that nobody's demolished at any time.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31He's a figure that all political factions,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33in a way, also can buy into.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36He's a humanist, he's an enlightenment leader,
0:20:36 > 0:20:39he emancipated, he liberated the Jews, he likes minorities,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and he treated people with dignity.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44And Cyrus becomes this blank slate
0:20:44 > 0:20:47onto which the Shah projects his own image
0:20:47 > 0:20:50so that he may be reflected in his glory.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53He was the first to introduce justice.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57He was the first man who introduced the bill of rights.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59We have the scroll.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Well, you have the real scroll in your museum.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03You took it from us.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25I think the problem of the White Revolution
0:22:25 > 0:22:29was, in many ways, a top-down process
0:22:29 > 0:22:31that was primarily, I think,
0:22:31 > 0:22:37geared towards positioning the Shah as that benevolent monarch
0:22:37 > 0:22:40who gives out charity, almost, to Iranians.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44So, it was, in many ways, an act of propaganda
0:22:44 > 0:22:45more than anything else.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57If you are unhappy that your country is saying goodbye
0:22:57 > 0:22:59to a feudalistic system,
0:22:59 > 0:23:03if you are unhappy that half of the population of your country,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06the women, are emancipated, well, this I cannot help.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23Khomeini was a pure cleric.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25His grandfather, his father,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27all of them, were steeped in Islamic theology,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32and this whole idea that Iran was not primarily an Islamic country
0:23:32 > 0:23:35was, for him, utterly unacceptable.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I had to...
0:24:24 > 0:24:27..send one of those stubborn...
0:24:29 > 0:24:32..obscurantist clergyman abroad.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34He had to travel.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I'm probably more religious than those people myself.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11This is the story of my life,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13mystical and religious,
0:26:13 > 0:26:16but I believe the true religion.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19The religion of God, the religion of our Prophet.
0:26:21 > 0:26:26And not what has been added to it by those who want to make it...
0:26:28 > 0:26:32..a job, a profiteering job, for themselves.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:26:54 > 0:26:58VOICE-OVER IN FRENCH
0:27:54 > 0:28:00The word Shah in Iran was associated to perfection.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05And Iranians really did like the Shah.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11They associated themselves, at least when I was young,
0:28:11 > 0:28:16to the Shah, to the country having a Shah.
0:28:16 > 0:28:21The Shah was part of our everyday life.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34The greatest show on earth is also
0:28:34 > 0:28:36going to be one of the most select.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39The Shah's invited 60 of the world's heads of state,
0:28:39 > 0:28:44from as far away as Norway and Nepal, Lesotho and Liechtenstein,
0:28:44 > 0:28:45to spend three days with him
0:28:45 > 0:28:47in this special royal village.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49There's even a British delegation.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52When Princess Anne and the Duke arrive here at Persepolis
0:28:52 > 0:28:55for the three-day party, they'll be accommodated,
0:28:55 > 0:28:59like all the rest of the 60 heads of state, in a tent.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01In fact, we're told in THIS tent,
0:29:01 > 0:29:04although Protocol might change their minds and switch everybody round.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Now, this is the sort of thing they'll have in each of these tents.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11There are six cut glasses on a tortoiseshell tray.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14There's this perfumed candle in a glass cylinder
0:29:14 > 0:29:15with a decorative snake.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19And an ornamental Iranian ashtray.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22For morning tea, all Princess Anne will have to do
0:29:22 > 0:29:26is give a little tinkle on her bedside bell,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28for near at hand is her personal maid,
0:29:28 > 0:29:31who sleeps on a foldaway bed in the kitchen.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34It's fully equipped, as are all the arrangements.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38The tents are all tastefully situated in a forest of young trees,
0:29:38 > 0:29:4215,000 of them flown in specially from Versailles,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45not to mention the 15,000 flowering shrubs.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48And then, in the top-secret banqueting tent, is the food.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Four tonnes of it - again, all from Paris.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54There's even a French-built royal club.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59TRANSLATIONS FROM FRENCH:
0:31:03 > 0:31:07I worked eight seasons at the Palace Hotel in St Moritz.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09In the Palace, they called me after the season.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13They called me up, they said, "The Shah of Iran is making a big party,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16"so we are all going to Persepolis."
0:31:16 > 0:31:21You had about 40, 50 people from the Palace.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24I took the train from my home valley.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28I bought myself a Swiss sausage and a piece of bread.
0:31:28 > 0:31:31My friends, they already went to Tehran before,
0:31:31 > 0:31:34and they went to the Hilton Hotel and had some caviar and champagne.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41As we go to the plane, everybody was quiet,
0:31:41 > 0:31:47because a lot of them were afraid to fly.
0:31:47 > 0:31:51Most of them never had been in a plane.
0:31:51 > 0:31:58TRANSLATION FROM GERMAN:
0:32:17 > 0:32:22The Scandinavian monarchs had hired a plane for the three of them
0:32:22 > 0:32:26and I went into that plane with my Greek cousin, King Constantine.
0:32:26 > 0:32:31And in the plane, I remember that they were discussing the jewels
0:32:31 > 0:32:33that the queens in the plane were bringing.
0:32:33 > 0:32:37Queen Anne-Marie said, "I'm bringing the emeralds," which are huge.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I mean, they were Romanov emeralds, and everyone was bringing the best.
0:32:40 > 0:32:45I said, "Listen, compared to what Empress Farah is going to show,
0:32:45 > 0:32:50"it's peanuts, because she has the most important jewels on earth."
0:32:50 > 0:32:51At the beginning,
0:32:51 > 0:32:55I thought it was just bling-bling
0:32:55 > 0:33:00and, as they say in Germany, schicki-micki.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05That is, a little bit smart and snob, but nothing interesting.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08So, then I changed my mind.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:34:02 > 0:34:06He ordered sparrows, lots and lots of sparrows, from Spain.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09There was not enough water around for all the birds, you know.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13But it was... Suddenly, 400 fell down!
0:34:13 > 0:34:15It was not very nice,
0:34:15 > 0:34:18but he wanted to make it look like a forest.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21I don't know why he brought all these trees to the desert.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:34:51 > 0:34:55For days and days, a big aeroplane full of ice was delivered,
0:34:55 > 0:34:58a big block of ice, and put in the desert,
0:34:58 > 0:35:01a bit like a garage, you know, like a car port.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05A block of ice delivered every day, and we all go out to the desert
0:35:05 > 0:35:08to cool us down on this ice, but nobody knew...
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Only the last day I realised that this ice
0:35:11 > 0:35:15has to be chopped into pieces for the ice buckets for the white wine.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26Well, I must have read about it, but it just seemed like...
0:35:26 > 0:35:29since I was a party reporter, that's what I was hired to do,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32that this was going to be the ultimate party
0:35:32 > 0:35:33and that I should be there.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38I stayed in Tehran for several days.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41One of the interesting things that happened was,
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and I later wrote about this in my stories,
0:35:44 > 0:35:48was how unhappy so many people were about the celebration
0:35:48 > 0:35:50and what kind of criticism they were getting
0:35:50 > 0:35:52for spending all of this money
0:35:52 > 0:35:56when they didn't have enough money to send children to school
0:35:56 > 0:35:57or to feed children.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01And when I was there, I met with them and they said,
0:36:01 > 0:36:04"We're going to take you to a meeting, an underground meeting,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06"but we have to blindfold you to take you there."
0:36:09 > 0:36:13I was in this room and there were these... They were all men.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16And they were very angry at the Shah
0:36:16 > 0:36:21and they basically said, you know, "This is a trumped-up empire.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24"The guy's father was a peasant, he's not an emperor.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27"And then they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars
0:36:27 > 0:36:31"on this festival, which we can't afford in this country."
0:37:02 > 0:37:05'Cyrus, King of Kings.
0:37:05 > 0:37:10'Champion, long before Magna Carta, of human rights and liberties.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14'Cyrus, the founder of Persian culture
0:37:14 > 0:37:16'and the father of Iran,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20'the land five times the size of Great Britain,
0:37:20 > 0:37:23'which this Shah rules today.
0:37:25 > 0:37:26'It had fallen to him
0:37:26 > 0:37:30'after a twilight in his nation's long history,
0:37:30 > 0:37:33'to remind the world and his own people
0:37:33 > 0:37:36'of Persian pride.'
0:37:36 > 0:37:39It was out of this world.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43I had a shiver going down my spine.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46IN ENGLISH:
0:38:00 > 0:38:05TRANSLATION:
0:38:08 > 0:38:11SPEAKS IN OWN LANGUAGE
0:38:15 > 0:38:17IN ENGLISH:
0:39:03 > 0:39:06'Oh, Cyrus, great king,
0:39:06 > 0:39:10'king of kings, Achaemenian king,
0:39:10 > 0:39:12'king of the land of Iran,
0:39:12 > 0:39:15'I, the Shahanshah of Iran,
0:39:15 > 0:39:20'offer these salutations from myself and from my nation.
0:39:22 > 0:39:26'At this glorious moment in the history of Iran,
0:39:26 > 0:39:28'I and all Iranians,
0:39:28 > 0:39:33'the offspring of the empire which thou founded 2,500 years ago,
0:39:33 > 0:39:37'bow our heads in reverence before thy tomb.'
0:40:48 > 0:40:51The last day before everything started,
0:40:51 > 0:40:56Mr Alam came and asked all of us to come into the big hall,
0:40:56 > 0:41:00and he said, "Listen, from tomorrow, you are on your own.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04"If you get into trouble, you have to improvise
0:41:04 > 0:41:08"and solve your problem on your own.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11"Think you are in war."
0:41:11 > 0:41:13I still...get...
0:41:14 > 0:41:17..excited, goose pimples, when I remember these words.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30'In the middle of October 1971,
0:41:30 > 0:41:35'62 heads of state converged on the airport
0:41:35 > 0:41:37'of the fairy-tale city of Shiraz
0:41:37 > 0:41:41'in a patchwork of colour, in a whirl of salutes,
0:41:41 > 0:41:42'bows and curtsies.
0:41:42 > 0:41:46'Familiar faces in the world scene stepped out of their aircraft
0:41:46 > 0:41:50'over red carpets fringed with guards of honour,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53'into the welcoming Persian sunlight.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56'It was just like this.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59'Too much was happening to pick out the detail.
0:41:59 > 0:42:00'For all the arrivals,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03'ceremony and protocol had to be carefully observed.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07'None who were there saw it all.
0:42:08 > 0:42:12'So began one of the most historic cultural gatherings
0:42:12 > 0:42:13'the world has ever seen.'
0:42:15 > 0:42:20The only person that was sitting in headquarters in Persepolis was me.
0:42:20 > 0:42:22I couldn't sleep.
0:42:22 > 0:42:24I was scared to death.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Because something this elaborate,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32any small thing that could happen would be a scandal.
0:42:32 > 0:42:38One of these African countries requested through our embassy
0:42:38 > 0:42:39that they would like to bring
0:42:39 > 0:42:42ten people with the head of state.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44Five was the maximum.
0:42:44 > 0:42:50He said these are his personal guards,
0:42:50 > 0:42:54that two of them must sleep under his bed.
0:42:55 > 0:43:00So, His Majesty said, "OK, let this one have his ten."
0:43:00 > 0:43:03And he brought ten guys.
0:43:03 > 0:43:10Haile Selassie came with 75 people on a plane.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13I remember I went...
0:43:13 > 0:43:20nuts, because these guys, who's going to take care of 85 people?
0:44:02 > 0:44:04You've never seen a tent like this before.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07It's not like your average camping tent.
0:44:07 > 0:44:08They were like little homes.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I mean, they were gorgeous and everything looked like
0:44:11 > 0:44:13it had come right out of a decorating magazine.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17You could pull up your chair and sit outside your tent,
0:44:17 > 0:44:20so some of the kings and queens were kind of sitting outside their tent,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22or some had the tents open,
0:44:22 > 0:44:25you know, sort of Prince Philip waving at, you know,
0:44:25 > 0:44:27the King of Denmark
0:44:27 > 0:44:30and somebody else waving, and then Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier
0:44:30 > 0:44:33and everybody sort of, "Hi, how are you? Good to see."
0:44:33 > 0:44:35They'd stop and chat. It was...
0:44:35 > 0:44:38I had never seen anything like it
0:44:38 > 0:44:40and there's never been anything like it since.
0:44:40 > 0:44:44Everything was done with the most exquisite taste.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47And it was not at all nouveau riche,
0:44:47 > 0:44:51not at all gold everywhere or marbles.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53It was good taste.
0:45:21 > 0:45:22You couldn't walk three steps
0:45:22 > 0:45:25without falling over some security guard.
0:45:25 > 0:45:29The King of Denmark was trying to get through to something
0:45:29 > 0:45:30and they threw him out
0:45:30 > 0:45:34and only later did they find out that he was the King of Denmark!
0:45:34 > 0:45:36It was very tight. Very tight.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54In 1971, there was more and more guerrilla warfare,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56not only in Iran, but elsewhere as well.
0:45:56 > 0:45:58The Vietnam counterculture,
0:45:58 > 0:46:01the revolutions happening in Cuba, Che Guevara.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03These people were not reformers,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06they were not bourgeois, middle-class, you know, people
0:46:06 > 0:46:09who were worried about their mortgage.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12They were worried about changing their countries,
0:46:12 > 0:46:14but also world history.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49TRANSLATIONS FROM FRENCH:
0:47:03 > 0:47:06This was a period when the Shah, among many critics in the West,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08was seen as, essentially, a tinpot dictator,
0:47:08 > 0:47:09not a liberal man at all.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33Some of them were fairly... felt a bit awkward
0:47:33 > 0:47:36about the pretensions the Shah was portraying.
0:47:36 > 0:47:37Clearly in Britain, for instance,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39they were not keen for the Queen to go,
0:47:39 > 0:47:42because they thought, if he's pushing it about
0:47:42 > 0:47:45that he's the premier monarch in the world, you know,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48we don't want to be in a position where our monarchs
0:47:48 > 0:47:54are seen as, you know, paying homage to the King of Kings.
0:48:57 > 0:49:02Your Majesty, there are some people who feel that Iran
0:49:02 > 0:49:06should not be spending millions of dollars on this celebration
0:49:06 > 0:49:09while there are still people in need.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11How do you answer these critics
0:49:11 > 0:49:14and why do you think it was important to have this celebration?
0:49:16 > 0:49:20First of all, how do they know about what is spent?
0:49:20 > 0:49:25Really, the only expenses that are made for the festivities
0:49:25 > 0:49:29are the two official dinners that we are going to give our guests.
0:49:29 > 0:49:33This is the least that we could do for such a gathering.
0:49:47 > 0:49:52Everybody arrived at the entrance of that big tent at eight o'clock.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55It was more than surreal. It was unbelievable.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58It was the biggest event of my life.
0:49:58 > 0:50:02To see all these people, it was so little place.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06For example, they hadn't invited all the ministers.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08The Cabinet was not there.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12Many Iranians... Even Iranians were not invited.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15There was no room. There...
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Simply no room.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28People hadn't planned exactly what they were going to do
0:50:28 > 0:50:29with all these monarchs.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33I mean, they had them in their tent cities, but then what?
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Nobody had really thought what was going to happen
0:50:37 > 0:50:40once they all came in the huge tent,
0:50:40 > 0:50:43and so the Shah and the Shahbanu were there to greet them,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47the guests, and they started piling up,
0:50:47 > 0:50:50because they couldn't get through the receiving line quickly.
0:50:50 > 0:50:52The problem is that
0:50:52 > 0:50:55not everybody arrived on time
0:50:55 > 0:50:56and not everybody went in
0:50:56 > 0:50:58within two or three minutes.
0:50:58 > 0:51:00So, after some time, there was a queue.
0:51:00 > 0:51:03According to the rules of protocol,
0:51:03 > 0:51:07kings take precedence against others due to their permanence.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10So, they had to go in first.
0:51:10 > 0:51:14There were too many of them and more were coming.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16So, there were two queues,
0:51:16 > 0:51:21one of kings and queens and one of lesser mortals,
0:51:21 > 0:51:25like presidents and prime ministers.
0:51:25 > 0:51:27It was just unbelievable.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30And then there was this huge dust storm that came up,
0:51:30 > 0:51:34and people's hairdos were getting undone
0:51:34 > 0:51:37and the crowns were being held on so they wouldn't blow off,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39and the dresses were swirling,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42and the dust was getting into people's eyes,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44and they were trying to push their way in
0:51:44 > 0:51:48so they wouldn't have to stand out in the dust storm.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57This storm just came at the wrong time.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59I was scared that this big chandelier
0:51:59 > 0:52:01will fall on somebody's head.
0:52:01 > 0:52:03It was like the end of the world.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07This was not exactly what he expected for opening up the party.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10Finally, everybody was sort of piling in,
0:52:10 > 0:52:12and they didn't know what to do.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14And a lot of the Europeans were related to each other,
0:52:14 > 0:52:17but a lot of people didn't know each other.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19There wasn't anybody there to sort of say,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24"Oh, you know, the Emperor of Japan, I want you to meet Haile Selassie."
0:52:24 > 0:52:27You know, so these people would sort of stand off in corners
0:52:27 > 0:52:29and stare at each other.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42INTERVIEWER: How were the royals and the communists, er...?
0:52:42 > 0:52:45The best! The best, the best.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Communists and royals went on to perfection,
0:52:48 > 0:52:50as it very often happens.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Even if the Russians had murdered I don't know how many royals,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59but that was all in the old days.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22The head waiter fainted before the party and we had to carry...
0:53:22 > 0:53:25give him some medicine to calm him down.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29Five people had to hold him, we took him to the medical...
0:53:29 > 0:53:33There was a medical tent and we had to give him tranquillisers.
0:53:33 > 0:53:35He just couldn't take it, the pressure.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36Five people had to hold him
0:53:36 > 0:53:38because he didn't know what he was doing any more.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40It was a tremendous pressure.
0:53:40 > 0:53:41You have all the heads of states
0:53:41 > 0:53:44and then the food is not properly ready.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47So, that's not exactly what you are looking for as a head waiter.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49But I don't think the customer realised it,
0:53:49 > 0:53:53because they had so much to talk together when they arrived,
0:53:53 > 0:53:55and whether it's half an hour later or not,
0:53:55 > 0:53:58I think they had enough time to talk together.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01I don't think the customers realised that we were in panic.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06And it was very hot in the kitchen area,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09so the people in the kitchen area were practically nude!
0:54:09 > 0:54:13They'd taken off most of their clothes and a lot of them were...
0:54:13 > 0:54:16The men were sort of in these bikini underwear!
0:54:16 > 0:54:19SHE LAUGHS
0:54:22 > 0:54:25This was the big book where the menu is inside.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29So, this is a very nice glass
0:54:29 > 0:54:32that you could show... see where you are.
0:54:33 > 0:54:39And so the first plate was oeufs de caille or perles de bandar Pahlavi.
0:54:39 > 0:54:40Everything the best.
0:54:40 > 0:54:421,000 kilo of caviar.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46It's caviar, you know. It's not...bread.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50There was caviar at the big dinner.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54But, no, they were not night and day caviar, no.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Protocol was a nightmare of all nightmares at this thing.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Everybody was sort of looking to see where everybody else was seated
0:55:04 > 0:55:07and who had a better seat and who had a better ranking,
0:55:07 > 0:55:10so all that was going on at the same time.
0:55:11 > 0:55:16It was very interesting to watch all this intrigue.
0:55:16 > 0:55:20Three people had one table.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22Each one controlled the other.
0:55:22 > 0:55:23They were from the army,
0:55:23 > 0:55:26checking that we don't put any poison in the food or something.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40IN ENGLISH:
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Chateaubriand, Chateau Latour, Chateau Lafite.
0:55:55 > 0:55:57The second plate was a...
0:55:57 > 0:56:01TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:56:34 > 0:56:36To tell you the truth, me personally,
0:56:36 > 0:56:38I almost didn't eat anything.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41I was only looking around, looking at people.
0:56:44 > 0:56:49The tablecloth was one hundred and something metres long
0:56:49 > 0:56:50in one piece.
0:56:50 > 0:56:54TRANSLATION FROM FRENCH:
0:57:28 > 0:57:30The sound and light show was...
0:57:30 > 0:57:33I remember that it was very cold and very windy,
0:57:33 > 0:57:36and everybody was really tired
0:57:36 > 0:57:39and would rather have gone back to their tent
0:57:39 > 0:57:42instead of bundling up and going up to the top of the hill
0:57:42 > 0:57:44to watch the sound and light show.
0:57:47 > 0:57:51Open the gates guarded by winged bulls with human heads.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03It was three minutes. Three minutes is a long time.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25EXPLOSION
0:58:25 > 0:58:26In San Francisco,
0:58:26 > 0:58:29there was an explosion in the Iranian consulate during the night
0:58:29 > 0:58:32that set fires throughout the three-storey stone building.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35There was heavy damage, but no-one was injured.
0:58:35 > 0:58:37Numbers of Iranians around the country
0:58:37 > 0:58:41have protested the Shah of Iran's lavish celebration
0:58:41 > 0:58:44of the 2,500th anniversary of his dynasty,
0:58:44 > 0:58:46a celebration on which we'll have live coverage
0:58:46 > 0:58:49by satellite later in this half-hour.
0:58:50 > 0:58:52FANFARE
0:59:19 > 0:59:21CHEERING
1:00:31 > 1:00:34We are firmly on our feet.
1:00:36 > 1:00:40And by the grace of God, we are going to progress.
1:00:40 > 1:00:46And with or without the sympathy of the outside countries or people,
1:00:46 > 1:00:51we shall enter the era of the great civilisation.
1:00:51 > 1:00:55We shall regain our past prestige.
1:00:55 > 1:00:59And I hope that you will know that I'm not speaking...
1:01:00 > 1:01:04..in a spirit of vanity.
1:01:06 > 1:01:08I am full of humility,
1:01:08 > 1:01:13but I am very sure of my people, and very sure of our destiny.
1:01:21 > 1:01:23The great civilisation
1:01:23 > 1:01:28was the word which was repeated many, many times
1:01:28 > 1:01:32in every speech and in every headline of the newspaper.
1:01:32 > 1:01:36It was to give us a sense of pride
1:01:36 > 1:01:42and to help us go ahead with the modernisation of Iran
1:01:42 > 1:01:45and to be sure of ourselves as Iranians.
1:02:57 > 1:03:02What I can say is that we are now sophisticated enough
1:03:02 > 1:03:06to use the same methods that you people are using
1:03:06 > 1:03:10for interrogating the people that you have to.
1:03:11 > 1:03:14- INTERVIEWER:- Who are you referring to, sir, specifically?
1:03:14 > 1:03:18Any of the... sophisticated societies,
1:03:18 > 1:03:23they have some very efficient system of interrogation,
1:03:23 > 1:03:26which is much more psychological than physical.
1:03:26 > 1:03:29- We do the same things as you're doing.- You do the same?
1:03:29 > 1:03:31And do you regard that as justified?
1:03:33 > 1:03:35That depends on what cases.
1:03:35 > 1:03:38In the case of betrayal of one's country...
1:03:39 > 1:03:41..I could say anything goes.
1:04:16 > 1:04:19You can see films, for instance,
1:04:19 > 1:04:21you can hear stories,
1:04:21 > 1:04:24that even in police precincts,
1:04:24 > 1:04:29a police officer or detective
1:04:29 > 1:04:35gets so mad at the behaviour of the fellow that he has just arrested
1:04:35 > 1:04:41that he loses his head and he just punches on that fellow
1:04:41 > 1:04:44or breaks a chair on his head.
1:04:46 > 1:04:48These are some kind of human reactions
1:04:48 > 1:04:51that it's almost beyond control.
1:06:12 > 1:06:15What is it that makes an Iranian?
1:06:15 > 1:06:20What is the quality that binds the tribesman 1,000 miles away from here
1:06:20 > 1:06:23with the person giving a party in Tehran?
1:06:23 > 1:06:26What is the common bond that links them all?
1:06:28 > 1:06:33I'm not making any propaganda, but I think it's the crown, the king.
1:06:33 > 1:06:35It's you?
1:06:36 > 1:06:38At this moment, yes.
1:06:44 > 1:06:47'The climax of the celebrations.
1:06:47 > 1:06:50'The first glimpse of the floodlit monument
1:06:50 > 1:06:53'outside the airport of Tehran,
1:06:53 > 1:06:56'in honour of the present Shah.'
1:06:56 > 1:06:58That monument is a moment,
1:06:58 > 1:07:01sort of an iconic imagery
1:07:01 > 1:07:06that, for them, speaks about the good life.
1:07:06 > 1:07:09And I think what is so tragic about that
1:07:09 > 1:07:13is that that good life is always in the past.
1:07:18 > 1:07:21When the planes left,
1:07:21 > 1:07:26Alam asked me over and said, "Take care of the tents."
1:07:27 > 1:07:31I went to each one...
1:07:32 > 1:07:36..and made a list of what's inside.
1:07:37 > 1:07:41Many of the things that were inside were gone already.
1:07:41 > 1:07:44They had taken it. Now...
1:07:44 > 1:07:46- INTERVIEWER:- Who'd taken it? The heads of state?
1:07:46 > 1:07:48I have no idea.
1:07:48 > 1:07:51I don't want to accuse heads of states
1:07:51 > 1:07:54for taking the telephone and radio...
1:07:55 > 1:07:59..because there were over 50 of them for each tent.
1:07:59 > 1:08:01I...
1:08:01 > 1:08:04When I counted, there was only one left.
1:08:04 > 1:08:09So, maybe those who were working there took them.
1:11:14 > 1:11:19I think it's a very high calibre, the person who comes to say...
1:11:19 > 1:11:23TRANSLATION:
1:12:02 > 1:12:05- INTERVIEWER: - It must be lonely to be Shahanshah.
1:12:08 > 1:12:11Yes, it's a very...very special...
1:12:12 > 1:12:14..case, if I can say so.
1:12:17 > 1:12:19In what way is it special?
1:12:19 > 1:12:22I mean, to be, as you say, the King of Kings.
1:12:23 > 1:12:26And it means that you are lonely because...
1:12:27 > 1:12:33..you really have no-one to go to for advice who is above you.
1:12:33 > 1:12:35Well, there's always God.
1:12:53 > 1:12:57He was not the only one that I could blame.
1:12:57 > 1:12:59I blame myself.
1:12:59 > 1:13:02I know my husband blames himself.
1:13:02 > 1:13:07We started forgetting our own traditions,
1:13:07 > 1:13:10copying other modern countries.
1:13:10 > 1:13:16I remember that until I was maybe 15 or 16,
1:13:16 > 1:13:19I used to pray.
1:13:19 > 1:13:25After that, when I went to high school, I stopped praying
1:13:25 > 1:13:30and I forgot about religion, in a way.
1:13:30 > 1:13:32I don't know. I blame myself...
1:13:32 > 1:13:38I blame myself, because I didn't realise that my cook was a Muslim
1:13:38 > 1:13:41and he prayed three times a day
1:13:41 > 1:13:47and I would go in the kitchen to tell him what to cook,
1:13:47 > 1:13:49in my bikini.
1:13:49 > 1:13:52And he would turn his back to me
1:13:52 > 1:13:55and make believe that he was doing something.
1:13:55 > 1:13:57I didn't realise that he didn't want to look at me.
1:13:57 > 1:13:59I didn't realise.
1:13:59 > 1:14:03We didn't realise that the country was Muslim.
1:15:45 > 1:15:48MUSIC: For Me Formidable
1:15:51 > 1:15:54# You are the one for me
1:15:54 > 1:15:57# For me, for me, formidable
1:15:58 > 1:16:00# You are my love very
1:16:00 > 1:16:04# Very, very, veritable... #