I Time Traveled to Iran 5000 Years Ago: Finding Ancient Susa

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Okay, so I have just arrived in ancient Iran 5,000 years ago and No, no, no, no.

[00:00:05]Oh, oh, that is fish and smoke and something. So, the plan is I'm going to check in at my room in the inn, get into the market, see how people actually live here, eat whatever they eat. Yep, the king in person. Oh, and thank you so much, guys, for all the support on my channel. It means the world. 150,000 of you subscribed to the channel.

[00:00:39]>> [music] >> So, one thing I've noticed about ancient Iran, these buildings are just they lean. They literally lean into each other up there like they're holding each other up. So, I think they might know I'm not from here. Okay, so this is where I'm staying. The Lion's Den in Sounds ominous.

[00:01:27]They were okay. I just I just need the key. Excuse me. Um, hi. I'm checking into my room.

[00:01:50]It's in the name of Mia. Okay, so these staircases are just they're tiny. I feel like I'm like I don't know, like a giant or something. These people were built completely differently to me. Like goodness gracious. Oh, it's kind of cute in an ancient kind of way. So the mattress is straw. Actual straw. The stuff horses eat.

[00:02:16]Oh goodness. I've just noticed the bathroom. Yeah, that pot is the bathroom. Didn't have one of these since my ancient trip. My view is just ancient Iranian life. Like unfiltered happening right now, right outside my window.

[00:02:29]Anyway, let's get changed into something more fitting.

[00:02:32]>> Okay, new outfit. A linen shift underneath, a woolen tunic on top, an overdress over that, and a headscarf. It is itchy. Very itchy. But I need to blend in.

[00:02:40]>> Let's go see ancient Iran. Can you believe this place? I mean, it's so authentic. It's like stepping back in time. A pig.

[00:02:48]Okay, so the Grand Bazaar. Okay, so the GR is the main market street of ancient Iran right now and I was not I was not for the volume and everyone is doing it at the absolute top of their voice. So apparently spice meat pie was eaten a lot here and I have always wanted to try a >> it's um it's quite earthy but also kind of sweet like I was not expecting the sweet. Not bad actually.

[00:03:12]That kid is about 10 years old and he has already started his apprenticeship.

[00:03:15]Like this is his life now. He will do this trait for the rest of his life probably in this exact workshop.

[00:03:20]>> There is no school for him, no childhood in the way we understand it. He is actually really good at it though.

[00:03:28]So this is the royal road 5000 BC. This right here is basically the internet.

[00:03:34]This is how news travels, how gossip and the king already knows exactly how dangerous this is. He started censoring printed works just a few years ago.

[00:03:44]Okay. So, everyone is going somewhere all at once. I have absolutely no idea what what is happening, but I'm going with them. It's um it's quite earthy, but also kind of sweet. Like, I was not expecting the sweet. Not bad, actually.

[00:04:00]>> The whole system of keeping order runs entirely on public fear, but it is also just entertainment. Like the king.

[00:04:10]You like the king? a great and mighty ruler.

[00:04:15]>> I don't think he even believed what he was saying. The fear is real. Okay, so this is the great bridge of Isvahan.

[00:04:21]Over 200 buildings on a bridge. At the top of this gate house, there are heads on spikes and everyone just walks under them every single day.

[00:04:31]Fun fact, the great bridge of Isvahan was the only bridge across the entire city until 1750 and it took 33 years to build. So that is the citadel of Pipilus built by ancient rulers in 550 BC. So in 5,000 BC. All right, time to get some dinner. I am just looking for a tavern that seems yet I know like the least noisy option.

[00:04:56]Maybe this one. [screaming] [groaning] >> Get out.

[00:05:03]Yeah, maybe not. The tavern. The tavern.

[00:05:07]Okay. I mean, I guess it is what it says on the sign.

[00:05:12]Oh, okay. So, the smell is it is mud and sweat and tallow and all of it together is it's a lot. Okay. So, wine, pottage, spiced meat pie, bread. That is the entire menu.

[00:05:28]Wine, please. Wine and spiced meat pie, please.

[00:05:35]So, I ordered pie. I got this, which is essentially a very thick stew with some kind of meat in it. I think it's actually not bad. Like, it's quite herby. I've had worse. So, let's try the wine. Okay, I need two hands. So, let me put you down a sec. It's not as strong as you think.

[00:05:56]It's kind of watered down wine almost.

[00:06:10]Looks like the party's just arrived.

[00:06:23]>> Well, that escalated quickly. I picked the quietest tavern and now I'm basically clubbing ancient styles.

[00:06:34]Go figure.

[00:06:36][music] [music] Okay, so I'm not sure if you can even see me right now. I really miss street lamps, but that was genuinely one of the best nights I have had in a long time.

[00:06:55]The music, the dancing, the wine, all of it. Ready to sleep on my straw bed now if I manage to find it.

[00:07:03]>> Okay, so day one watched a public execution, got knocked over by a pig, and danced in an ancient Iranian tavern.

[00:07:11]These people, they work so hard and have so little and still find a way to just live.

[00:07:19]I received this today, an invitation from the king himself to visit him at the royal palace of Pipilus. Perks of being a time traveler.

[00:07:29]But the king is not the real reason I'm going. Good night.

[00:07:35]Good morning. And look at this. So apparently this is what you wear to visit the court of the king. The whole thing weighs an absolute ton.

[00:07:45][sighs and gasps] I can barely move. I do not know how women did this every single day. So this is the royal avenue which is meant to be the rich part. This road is an absolute state. And I say that as someone who lives on a road with potholes so bad the council has given up. This is the same. Oh my. Look at that dress. Like look at it. The embroidery alone that is handstitched.

[00:08:12]Every single thread of that is done by hand. That would have taken right. Okay.

[00:08:17]Normal. This is just this is Tuesday for her. This is just what you wear. Okay.

[00:08:24]So, I have just arrived at the Royal Palace of Procepils, and I am I'm not going to lie, I am extremely nervous right now. I have one objective today. I need to get to Anan and warn her about that while also keeping my head firmly on my body. The things I do for my followers.

[00:08:42]Oh my god, guys. He's coming. He's coming.

[00:08:47]>> Ah, you must be Mia. I have heard a great deal about you.

[00:08:51]>> Ah, yes, that's me. I have absolutely no idea what he has heard.

[00:08:56]>> So you claim to be a traveler from the year 2026.

[00:09:00]>> Yes.

[00:09:04]>> Very well. Then I would hear most eagerly what manner of king does history recall me to be.

[00:09:08]>> You are very well remembered, your majesty. Your majesty.

[00:09:13][sighs] I am told you have traveled far to be here. You could say that. Meet me in the corridor. It's important. Most good. You shall dine with us this evening, and you may tell me more of how greatly my name is remembered through the ages.

[00:09:28]>> I would be honored, your majesty.

[00:09:31]>> Huh?

[00:09:32]>> Dinner with the king. No pressure, your majesty. You need to leave now while you still can. Leave. Leave where exactly?

[00:09:39]Anywhere. Anywhere that is not here. The king is going to betray you. The king would never do such a thing. But your majesty, I'm thinking about absolutely everything right now.

[00:09:53]>> The cutlery situation alone, I do not know what half of these are for.

[00:09:59]How am I How am I sitting? Is this how I sit? What do I eat? In what order? With what? I cannot cope. Okay, sneaky food review.

[00:10:12]I genuinely do not know what animal this came from.

[00:10:17]Well, it's still not bad. It tastes like luxury with a hint of privilege.

[00:10:26]No, no, no, no. That is a completely different thing to what happened in the tavern.

[00:10:32]Second impromptu party of the trip. Send help.

[00:10:35]>> Come, let us see if the traveler from the future can manage a dance.

[00:10:40]>> I'm not sure if Anne would approve of this. You know, where I come from, people just kind of move. There are no steps.

[00:10:47]>> No steps.

[00:10:49]How extraordinary barbaric.

[00:10:53]>> He's not wrong. In fairness, I did tread on the king's foot twice, possibly three times.

[00:11:03]At least I kept my head. Couldn't wait to take that thing off. Anyway, ancient Iran. It is loud. It is chaotic. It smells in ways I did not know were possible. The food is better than you think. The wine grows on you. But in all seriousness, this place is brutal. The disease alone would probably have finished me off within a week. The filth, the fact that you can lose your head for saying the wrong thing to the wrong person on the wrong day. But the people, the people are what holds this place together. Anyway, I'm going back to 2026, or forward rather, to have an absolutely burning hot shower. Oh, and if you want to see more videos like this,