Persepolis, Iran

Persepolis is situated 60 km northeast of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province, Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. André Godard, the French archaeologist who excavated Persepolis in the early 1930s, believed that it was Cyrus the Great who chose the site of Persepolis, but that it was Darius I who built the terrace and the palaces.

As the residence of the rulers of the empire, however, a remote place in a difficult alpine region was far from convenient. The country's true capitals were Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana. This accounts for the fact that the Greeks were not acquainted with the city until Alexander the Great took and plundered it.

From kind travelers Iran, Jāmeh Mosque of Isfahān, UNESCO :)

Stamps from Iran, not cancelled again :( Wish they get cancelled once :)

Iran

Iran also known as Persia officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a sovereign state in Western Asia. With 78.4 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 17th-most-populous country.

Iran reached the pinnacle of its power during the Achaemenid Empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC, which at its greatest extent comprised major portions of the ancient world, stretching from parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression culminated in the 1979 Revolution, which led to the establishment of an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979. Tehran is the country's capital and largest city, as well as its leading cultural and economic center. Iran's rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.