Shushtar sits on a rocky outcrop above the Karun, Iran's largest river, in the plains of Khuzestan, and for nearly two thousand years its people have bent that river to their will. The hydraulic system here, listed by UNESCO in 2009, is a network of dams, weirs, canals, tunnels and mills built mainly in the Sasanian era, from the third century onward, to divert water for irrigation and power. The best known element was the Band-e Kaisar, a long bridge-dam across the Karun, traditionally said to have been built by Roman prisoners captured with the Emperor Valerian at the Battle of Edessa in 260. Only fragments remain, but the story of Roman engineers working for a Persian king is one of the great footnotes of ancient history.
The most spectacular sight is the mill complex at the edge of town, where water from the Gargar canal pours through tunnels cut into the rock and cascades down a cliff in a series of waterfalls, turning the wheels of mills that once ground grain for the region. Walking among the channels, bridges and mill chambers, with the sound of rushing water everywhere, is a cool, refreshing experience in a place where heat is the dominant fact of life.
Khuzestan is one of the hottest places on earth. Summer temperatures regularly exceed forty-five degrees, sometimes fifty, and riding in that heat is dangerous. Come between November and March, when the days are warm and pleasant and the nights cool. The landscape is flat and open, with palm groves, wheat fields and the foothills of the Zagros rising to the northeast.
Shushtar is one of a cluster of ancient sites in the region. Susa, a short ride west, was one of the capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, and the tomb of the prophet Daniel stands there. Chogha Zanbil, an Elamite ziggurat from the thirteenth century BC, rises from the plain between them, one of the best preserved in the world.
The town has fuel, shops and simple restaurants. Before planning any motorcycle trip to Iran, check carefully the current travel advice, visa rules and the requirement for a carnet de passage for your bike, and be aware that international bank cards do not work, so you will need to carry cash.