Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by southern Zagros mountains of Iran.

Naqsh-e Rostam is an ancient archeological site and necropolis located about 12 km northwest of Persepolis, in Fars Province, Iran

Pasargadae was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great, who ordered its construction and the location of his tomb. Today it is an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, about 90 kilometres to the northeast of the modern city of Shiraz.

Little-known and somewhat remote, but not isolated or clandestine, this, is a genuine lost paradise. An elevated oasis, hidden two-thousand meters above sea-level, high above the Iranian desert-plateau, inside a protective mountain-crater filled with lush forests of walnuts and pomegranate – one day, I’m going to regret ever mentioning the ancient village named “Dashtak”