Tour Guide, Shiraz, Iran
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The legendary city of Persepolis is the former capital of Darius the Great and founded in 512 BCE. There was no more impressive construction in the ancient world, except perhaps Karnak in Egypt.
The centre of the great Persian Empire, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenians and the showpiece of Achaemenian art, Persepolis (Capital of Persia in Greek) is a historic site in Fars Province, 60 km to the northeast of Shiraz.
Iranians call it Takht-e Jamshid (The throne of Jamshid); Jamshid being the first, probably mythical, ruler of Iran. This magnificent court was the summer residence of the Achaemenid Emperors and their official reception quarters.
It must be by some strange accident of history that Persepolis was never mentioned in foreign records, for it was here that representatives of all the varied peoples of the empire gathered to pay homage, and bring tribute, to the King of Kings, probably each spring, at the time of the ancient Nowruz festival.
Although set on fire and destroyed by Alexander in a gesture symbolizing the destruction of Persian imperial power, it's still impressive ruins permit a fairly complete reconstruction of its original appearance.
It embodies the Achaemenid style of architecture and UNESCO announced the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.