23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Travel
Whispers of Stone

During my travels in northern Iran, I visited a botanical cemetery where nature and memory intertwine. Among the tombstones, a woman walking quietly caught my attention. With her black chador, she seemed to have risen from one of the graves herself, moving slowly as if tracing the lives and stories of those laid to rest.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 12.2023
Date Uploaded: 10.2025
Photo Location: Iran
Copyright: © Hossein Nikzad Amoli