IRAN ~ Shahzadeh Garden - Mahan - UNESCO ~

... Last amazing card from Iranシ... a beautiful garden in the heart of the desert... this garden is one of the most beautiful and memorable Persian gardens... it consist of two wonderful historical buildings... lots of pools and fountains... many tall trees and beautiful flowers.... a sanctuary of green, surrounded by a desert landscape...

Dear Gian Luca and Raffaella it was a great pleasure to be a little part of your amazing journey✈...  and thanks so much for helping to enlarge my postcard collection with great and unique items... Love them all ♥♥... I've seen through your postcards a totally different side of Iran... the beauty of it... a place home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations that hosts nineteen UNESCO World Heritage Sites... mostly what we see and hear in the media about this country is ❝negative❞ news...

Shazdeh Garden meaning Prince’s Garden is a historical Persian garden located in Kerman province.

The garden is 5.5 hectares with a rectangular shape and a wall around it. It consists of an entrance structure and gate at the lower end and a two-floor residential structure at the upper end. The distance between these two is ornamented with water fountains that are engined by the natural incline of the land.

The garden was built originally for Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar Sardari Iravani ca. 1850 on this site, and was entirely remodeled and extended ca. 1870 by Abdolhamid Mirza Naserodolleh during the eleven years of his governorship in the Qajar dynasty. The current visible structure dates almost entirely to this second period. The construction was left unfinished, due to the death of Abdolhamid Mirza in the early 1890s.

Iran’s Persian Garden is one of the sites inscribed on UNESCO’s List in 2011. The property includes nine gardens selected from as many various regions of Iran.

Stamp:

Herbal Plants
(Issued 2015)

IRAN ~ Persepolis - Shiraz - UNESCO ~

... Beauty nr3♥... one of the World's great ruins... a place to enjoy and learn about the rich history of Persia... Persepolis is built up on a huge platform area... a masterpieces of art and architecture from ancient times... the detail and scale of this place is amazing... carvings in stone walls show rituals, festivals, court and daily life of 2500 years back... Thanks once more Gian Luca and Raffaella!! 【ツ】☛ My UNESCO WHS

Persepolis was the ancient ceremonial capital of the second Iranian dynasty, the Achaemenid Empire of the Persian, when it reached from Greece to India. For nearly two hundred years, from 518 BC to 333 BC, this was the home of the “King of Kings.” It was built by Darius and his son Xerxes the Great around 500 BC.

Persepolis (Old Persian: Parsa, New Persian: Takht-e Jamshid or Parseh) literal meaning "city of Persians". It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture.

What remains of this pinnacle of Persian civilization are massive columns and former palaces, innumerable reliefs depicting nationalities that once walked through there, and three humbling sepulchres on the hillside behind the ruins. Climbing the steps to enter the Gate of All Nations will show the visitors to the magnitude of this once magnificent empire.

UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.

Stamp:

 Herbal Plants
 (Issued 2015)

IRAN ~The Tomb of Cyrus - Pasargadae - UNESCO

... Beautiful UNESCO card nr2... view of Pasargadae's most famous monument... a fantastic place for those interested in ancient history... Cyrus II of Persia was one of the Greatest Man in History... a king who believed in human rights and freedom 2500 years ago... this ancient burial site is also believed to be one of the first earthquake-protected structures in the world... Big Thanks  Gian Luca and Raffaella!! ✿乂◕‿◕乂

Pasargadae covers the archaeological remains of the first capital of the Persian Empire located near shiraz in Fars Province. The settlement belongs to Achaemenid period and was built by The Great Cyrus 530 BC. The archaeological site of Pasargadae covers 1.6 square kilometres and it’s most important monument is Cyrus the Great’s tomb.

The Tomb of Cyrus is the burial place of the ancient Cyrus the Great of Persia and is believed to date back to the 4th century BC. It is made of white limestone and the tomb was surrounded with a royal garden and stone columns, some of which reach to 7 meters high.

The tomb is the oldest base-isolated structure in the world.(Base isolating is a form of seismic protection that allows the main structures of buildings to move independent of their foundations, allowing for more give in the case of an earthquake. Miraculously for its age, the Tomb of Cyrus appears to display these properties.)

The city has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004.


Stamp:

Herbal Plants
(Issued 2015)

IRAN ~ Imam Mosque - Isfahan - UNESCO ~

...First of 4 amazing postcards... fantastic surprises from dear postcard friends Gian Luca and Raffaella travelling in Iran... showing one of the jewels of Persia... stunning monument and one of the highlights at the head of Esfahan's main square.... a show piece of Persian Architecture... Thank a lot Gian Luca and Raffaella!! (✿ ♥‿♥) ➞ My UNESCO WHS

The Shah Mosque (Imam Mosque) is located on the South side of Naghsh-i Jahan Square in the city of Isfahan.

Imam Mosque is a large and complex structure, elaborately decorated with rambling and detailed seven-colour mosaic tile patterns. Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and finished in 1619. The mosque is an architectural masterpiece from the Safavid era. The main dome is the largest in the city of Isfahan, and reaches a height of 52 meters (171 ft).

In 1979  “Imam’s Square”  with Imam mosque was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It’s registered as one of the four most historic villages of Iran.

Stamp:

 Herbal Plants
(Issued 2015)

IRAN ~Treasury - The Levee Stone Figure-Persepolis-Shiraz - UNESCO~

Card 2 coming from Iran...had to wait for over 6 years to get another one^^...a beautiful relief from one of the world’s most magnificent and unique archaeological sites... Big Thanks David (see his travel pictures here)!!

Photo Davood Vakilzadeh The Treasury of Persepolis belongs to the oldest building phase of Persepolis.
Shown on the postcard: a close-up of a Relief in the eastern portico of a Courtyard depicting King Darius Seated on a Throne with His Son Xerxes Standing Behind Him.

Persepolis , literally meaning "city of Persians", was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550–330 BC). Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of city of Shiraz in the Fars Province in Iran. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. The ruins which where excavated in the forties by German archaeologists, exclusively served as a sacred place of ceremonies. Persepolis was later destroyed by Alexander the Great (332 B.C.) and the Arabs, however many of the buildings are well preserved and have been reconstructed.

UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979..

Stamp:
Prepaid postcard (matching stamp)
Definitive, Persian Alphabet
(Issued 2014 )

IRAN ~Tabriz~

Tabriz of Azerbaijan (persian) is the largest city in norhtwestern Iran near the border of Tunhish and capital of the East Azabaijan province.El Goli is a hillside garden and park around a artificial lake. Its only 4km south of downstream Tabriz and a populair weekend resort for the locals.