Apadana palace

Apadana palace

Iran/ Persia Persepolis.
Deep in the interior of Iran, 70 Km out of the city of Shiraz, rest the imposing ruins of ancient Persepolis. The city( from the Greek Perses+polis meaning the city of Persians) was built around 515 BC and was the ceremonial capital of the Achemenids Persian Empire. In this city king Darius built his famous palace and called it Apadana. Under the Achemenids the persian empire flourished in the East and twice attempted to conquer the rival Greeks in the west but failed, both on earth and sea, despite the fact that Darius son Xerxes burned down Acropolis in Athens. In 330 BC king Alexander the Great invaded Persia, conquered the whole empire and entered triumphant in Persepolis. During the great feast that followed, the drunk soldiers of the Greek army ,driven as tradition says by a beautiful "etaira" Thais, set fire and destroyed the city facing after the fury of Alexander. The ruins of the ancient Persepolis are very imposing in the middle of a desert and quite famous are the wall paintings and the bas-releives that they were excavated in the site of Apadana palace.
UNESCO declared the site of ancient Persepolis a world heritage in 1979.