PERSEPOLIS CITY OF CULTURE PERSEPOLIS It is a warm summer morning in the ancient city of Persepolis A group of schoolchildren arrives ready to explore the ruins Persepolis was once the capital of the Persian Empire A guide takes them to see the 2,500-year-old carvings on the city’s stone walls Many carvings show people delivering goods to their king Others show the local plants and animals
OTHER TOP SITES BADAB-E SURT ERAM GARDENS MOUNT DAMAVAND SHAH MOSQUE The students wander among the city’s ruins until lunchtime The tall columns loom overhead After lunch the children visit the tomb of the Persian king Artaxerxes II They enjoy a beautiful view of the city below Welcome to Iran
LOCATION ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN Iran is located in the Middle East It covers 636,372 square miles 1,648,195 square kilometers Tehran the country’s capital lies in the north Iran’s second-largest city Mashhad is in the northeast Iran has many land neighbors To the north are Armenia Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan Afghanistan and Pakistan border Iran to the east The nations of Iraq and Turkey make up the western border Approximately one-third of Iran’s borders are coasts The Caspian Sea washes against Iran’s northern coast The waters of the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf form Iran’s southern coast TURKEY IRAQ N E W S
CASPIAN SEA TURKMENISTAN TEHRAN KARAJ MASHHAD IRAN AFGHANISTAN ESFAHAN SHIRAZ PAKISTAN PERSIAN GULF GULF OF OMAN
