This vast downtown area linked by a series of of two-storeyed arcades, includes the Royal Mosque, the Mosque of Sheyx Lotfollah, the magnificient Portico of Qeyssariyeh, and the 15th century Timurid Palace. The area was built by Shah Abbas I the Great at the beginning of the 17th century.
Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II, the Great, in Pars, homeland of the Persians, in the 6th century BC.
The mausoleum of Oljaytu was constructed in 1302-12 in the city of Soltaniyeh, the capital of the Ilkhanid dynasty, which was founded by the Mongols.
Site of the most famous royal proclamation carved by Darius I on the great cliff known as "Mountain of the Gods" which celebrates various of his victories including his defeat over Gaumata, pretender to the throne.
Site includes three monastic ensembles in the north-west of the country: St Thaddeus, St Stepanos, and the Chapel of Dzordzor. The oldest, St Thaddeus, dates back to the 7th century.
The hydraulic system created two main diversion canals on the river Karun and can be traced back to Darius the Great in the 5th century B.C. One canal is still in use providing water to the city of Shushtar via a series of tunnels that supply water to mills.
The Persian Garden comprises nine gardens from different epochs and climates. They derive from the Chahar Bagh model, which dates back to the 6th Century BC. The designated gardens are:
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Built as a tomb for Qabus Ibn Voshmgir in 1006, the 53 m high tower is visible from great distances in the surrounding lowlands. The tower is the only remaining evidence of Jorjan, a former centre of arts and science that was destroyed during the Mongols' invasion in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Masjed-e Jame' is the oldest Friday (congregational) mosque in Iran.
Lynn Salmon <>{ Last updated: September 13, 2012
