ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a holistic approach underpinned by the idea of place. As an immediate transformation after such designation, larger echelons of bureaucratic power the state and the heritage industry take over the affairs of the place. As a set of abstract heritage values conflict with its daily life, the site is identified with and reduced to those historic monuments that provide picturesque and romanticised visions of a distant past. The multiplicity of Pasargadae is rooted in its long history and is compounded by contending political, economic and representational discourses that operate upon the site at a range of scales, from local to national and even global. Through the heritage site, various political factions within and outside the state engage in political conflict. However, concurrently, there are real issues of sustainable development, water management and the local economy to consider.
