Iran tourism: 30 beautiful surprises waiting to be discovered by adventurous travellers
Vank Cathedral, also known as Holy Saviour Cathedral, is an Armenian Apostolic church built in the early 1600s in Isfahan
In the 17th century, Isfahan was home to around 3,000 magnificent towers built to house pigeons. About 300 remain scattered throughout the countryside around the city
Abyaneh is one of the oldest villages in Iran. Located at 2,500m above sea level in Isfahan province, the village is a jumble of houses packed one on top the other on the slopes of Mount Karkas. The walls of the houses are made of mud bricks that contain a lot of iron oxides, giving them a reddish colour
Dizin, established in 1969, is the most popular ski resort in Iran. The ski season here runs from December to May – longer than European resorts because of its high altitude (3,600m, making it one of the 40 highest ski resorts in the world)
Darbandsar, 60km to the north-east of Tehran, is one of the newest ski resorts in Iran. It offers a variety of winter sports such as snowboarding, mountain climbing, cross-country and off-piste skiing, etc
Founded by Darius I in 518 BC, Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and is situated around 70km north-east of the city of Shiraz
The tomb of Cyrus the Great, in the Pasargadae World Heritage Site, is believed to date back to the 4th century BC