First Party of Iran's 2,500‐Year Celebration

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SHIRAZ, Iran, Oct. 12 — The Shah of Iran borrowed a palace tonight for the first party of the Persian Empire's 2,500th anniversary celebration.

The cocktail reception was held shortly before sundown in the gardens of pink and red geraniums and 10‐foot rose bushes of the exquisitely tiled stucco Bagh‐e Eram, a public palace. Invited were perhaps 600 courtiers, affluent Iranians, visiting Iranologists, scholars and the press—not the presidents, prime ministers, assorted royalty and highly placed commoners from 63 countries due here for the national celebration.

The guests, mostly strangers to one another, stood in little clusters. The Austrians searched out other Austrians and the French hunted up the French while waiters in dinner jackets passed drinks on mirrored trays.

It was a very simple party, particularly in view of the partridge stuffed with foie gras and truffles Maxim's of Paris is preparing for Thursday's dinner honoring the heads of state.

Just a Dab of Caviar

Aside from the dabs of runof‐the‐mill caviar in tiny pastry cups, the hors d'oeuvres, apparently prepared by the Shah's chef, ran to hot dog cubes with mustard, deviled eggs and bread squares topped with garlic‐flavored salami and maraschino cherries.

Perhaps 45 minutes after the party began, the Shah's hisand‐her blue‐and‐white helicopters swooped down on the lawns by the fountains and the host and his wife, the Empress Farah, tried to walk among their guests. They did not get very far.

Despite an army general who said: “Back! Back!” in Persian, English, and French, the guests pushed and shoved to get a look at the royal couple. “You”ll get hurt,” said Mrs. Herbert Duda, dragging her Viennese Persian scholar husband away from the crowds.

Abdul Reza Ansari, a former Interior Minister, helped the plainclothes palace guards control the guests but refused to do any pushing or shoving himself. “You see, we are not a police state,” he said laughingly.

Gifts From Iranologists

One by one, Iranologists from abroad approached the Shah, offering him scrolls and pictures as mementos of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire. He greeted each as personally as if he were in a private salon, switching easily from French to German and Persian to English.

Little by little, the guests backed the rulers against the palace wall and they slipped inside where they had a tea while their guests peered in at them. Then they were off again in their helicopters — back to their tent in Persepolis and then on to the sound‐and‐light spectacle in the mountains above the ruins.

Earlier today, the Shah went to the hot, wind‐swept plains of Pasargadae for the solemn ceremony inaugurating the celebration.

He stood before the simple stone tomb of Cyrus the Great and called out to the spirit of the ancient conqueror who created the Persian Empire.

“O Cyrus, great King, King of Kings, Achaemenian King, King of the land of Iran,” he cried, “I, the Shahanshah of Iran, offer thee salutations from myself and from my nation.”

Bids Cyrus ‘Rest in Peace’

He promised to safeguard the traditions of humanism and benevolence and noted that “the Iranian flag is flying today as triumphantly” as it flew in the time of Cyrus. “Rest in peace,” he said, “for we are awake, and we will always stay awake.”

Just as the Shah's speech ended, a desert wind came up blowing sand over the assembled Iranologists, army units, dignitaries and literacy corps workers. In Iran, a desert wind, particularly when it comes at a propitious moment, is considered a very good omen.

The Shah was in full military uniform, his chest covered with medals. The Empress wore a green‐and‐white silk ball gown, although it was only 11 o'clock in the morning, and long white gloves. Some of the emeralds in her 10‐pound crown were the size of golf balls. Her diamonds were only slightly smaller.