Iran

Overview

Iran has a rich culture and, it remains widely misrepresented and little understood by the general public. Iranians are most friendly people. Forget about what you saw on the news, go and use your own eyes. You will not be disappointed. It is a great country to travel, with efficient public transport, old cities packed with sights, ruins from ancient Persian and Caspian Sea beach resorts.

Iran is located in the Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan. Slightly larger than Alaska, it covers the territory in 1.648 million sq km and has a population of 65,619,636 people.

The capital of Iran is Tehran and its political and cultural center. It is a big city, but not unpretty. From it you can reach Tabriz in the west, the old capital city with lots of sights and a great bazaar.

Iran is a country with great ancient sights, rich culture, splendid cuisine and a very hospitable people. Despite the political winds this is a great country to visit.

Iran will be any person⿿s thrill concerning vacation destinations. All the places visited and people will stay in you mind for a long time. This country is very rich in cultural history, and lacks of tourism as it is wonderful to explore and get astonished by its wonderful landscapes and historical sites.

Although the country's changed since the government policies of Ayatollah Khomeini which keep people living in a different way than before and 'some harsh rules'...more

History

Persia or contemporary Iran has very long and rich history.

In the sixth century B.C. Iran's first empire the Achaemenid Empire was already established. It had an absolute monarch centralized rule a highly developed system of administration aspirations of world rule and a culture that was uniquely Persian even as it borrowed absorbed and transformed elements from other cultures and civilizations.

Although Alexander the Great brought the Achaemenid Empire to an end in 330 B.C. under the Sassanids (A.D. 224-642) Iran once again became the center of an empire and a great civilization.

Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction...more