Current republic of Iran is the descendant of the ancient Persian Empire. One of its most important cities used to be Persepolis. Even nowadays, the remains of the city are full of ruins of great palaces and other structures that attract tourists interested in ancient history.
Ancient Persian Empire was powerful and rich, which the numerous sights in nowadays Iran can easily prove. Perhaps the most interesting site is the city of Persepolis, once a ceremonial capital of the Empire. As Cestovanie.sk points out the Gate of All Nations also known as the Gate of Xerxes is one the city’s most significant monuments. Visitors who want to see the palace need to go through the gate. Behind the gate, tourists will see numerous remains of buildings, pillars and other interesting relics of the ancient civilization.
The interesting fact is that there are no temples in Persepolis, only palaces or representative rooms. The Throne Hall also called the ‘Hundred-Column Hall’ belongs among other significant sights of the city. It must have been an impressive building as it used to be 75 meters long. However, at present only remaining pillars can remind tourist of once glorious times of the building.
It is interesting to observe locals walking through the ruins of the city. As not many tourists visit the ancient city, they like to come there and relax. Although there are people who consider the pre-Islam times as dark ages, most Iranians are proud of their ancient history.
A small museum was established in the reconstructed building of former harem. There are three palaces next to the harem. The biggest belonged to Xerxes, smaller one to Artaxerxes III and the last one was built by Darius I. One of the other popular sights there is Apadana, a palace started by Darius and finished by Xerxes. It is famous for its reliefs. It took 30 years and the work of the best craftsmen from the whole Empire to build such a magnificent palace.