Name: Persepolis
Location: 36 miles/58 km from Shiraz 400 miles/640 km south of Tehran, Iran
Best time to visit: Spring and Fall
What's it like?
In 512 BC, Darius the Great chose to build a massive
and magnificent palace complex on this spot, one worth of the
vast and far-flung Persian Empire. Darius demanded the highest
level of artistic and architectural achievement causing the city
to become known as one of the wonders
of the ancient world.
In 330 BC the city was captured by Alexander the Great and burned to the ground; it is unclear as to whether the fire was accidental
or intentional as Alexander wasn't in the habit of destroying the cities he conquered.
Persepolis sits on a plateau that rises 30 feet from the plains below. The ruins today are a shadow of the city's former glory, yet visitors
to the fifteen buildings that have been re-erected can imagine the grandeur of Darius' dream.
