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Miffed Guests. There were also the inevitable hitches. The French hairdressers Alexandre and Carita were all atwitter when their dryers did not arrive until the second day of the celebration, along with the 400 pairs of false eyelashes, 300 wigs and 240 Ibs. of hairpins that they had ordered. Several peeved Persian Gulf sheiks complained that they had to travel the 30 miles from Shiraz airport to Persepolis by air-conditioned Mercedes limousine while Agnew, a mere Vice President, insisted on going by helicopter—and did. Haile Selassie, who was expected to arrive with an entourage of five, turned up from his China visit with 72 Ethiopians and a black Chihuahua that was later seen sporting a diamond-studded collar.
Despite the fact that the Shah strictly followed the rules of protocol laid down at the 1815 Congress of Vienna, some guests were miffed. When Kai-Ewe von Hassel, president of West Germany's Bundestag, was sent to represent (Federal President Gustav Heinemann, protocol decreed that he be shifted to a hotel and his tent assigned to the higher-ranking Princess Bilgis of Afghanistan. Von Hassel was not happy.
Nonetheless, considering the potential for disaster, the festivities went off remarkably smoothly. They began officially when the Shah visited the unadorned stone tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae, 50 miles from Persepolis. "O Cyrus, great king, king of kings, Achaemenian king, king of the land of rlran," the Shah intoned, "I, the Shahanshah of Iran, offer thee salutations from myself and from my nation. Rest in peace, for we are awake and we will always stay awake."
Medieval Dish. Sensitive to criticism that the whole thing was a mite overdone, the Shah inquired angrily before the party: "Why are we reproached for serving dinner to 50 heads of state? What am I supposed to do—serve them bread and radishes?" Hardly. The affair was catered by Maxim's of Paris, which sent to Persepolis 165 chefs, wine stewards and waiters. Maxim's shopping list included 25,000 bottles of wine—including a Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, 1945, at $100 a bottle—that were sent to Iran a month early to rest. There were also 7,700 Ibs. of meat, 8,000 Ibs. of butter and cheese, and 1,000 pints of cream to feed the guests and their legions of attendants. The menu for the main banquet was up to the occasion: quail eggs stuffed with caviar (the only Iranian dish on the menu); a mousse of crayfish tails in Nantua sauce; stuffed rack of roast lamb and, as a main course, a traditional medieval dish: roast peacock stuffed with foie gras. For dessert there was a ring of figs with raspberries in the center, champagne sherbet and mocha coffee. There was also a 33-kg. cake to mark Farah's 33rd birthday, which was last week.