Apadana palace
Apadana palace is the most beautiful palace of the ancient area of Sosa. It has been erected by the order of Darius the Great during 521_515 BC on runs of Elamite buildings. The walls are of brick and the columns are of stone. The palace of Darius has different parts such as the audience hall, the gateway, the reception palace and three central yards. Interior walls are decorated with glazed bricks bearing figures of javidan guard solders, a winged_lion, and water lilies. The remaining parts are kept in the museums in and out of the country. The stone columns have consisted of bases, pedestals, shafts, capitals , and entablatures. Capitals are in from of two cows sitting back to back.
Tchoga Zembil Ziggurat
The ziggurat of Tchoga Zembil was erected on the bank of Dez River 40 Kilometers southeast of Shush in Khuzestan Provinece. This Ziggurat was a temple that has been erected in 1250 BC in the middle of Dur Ontash city in the Elamite era by Ontash Napirish. He was the great king of ancient Elam. The ziggurat was built as a temple for Inshoshink, the guardian goddess of Susa. It was destroyed during Ashurbanipal’s attack along with other signs of Elamite civilization. The ziggurat of Tchoga Zambil is one of the biggest ancient buildings made of brick and adobes. It covered a ground of 11000 square meters in five floors. The height of the building was 25 meters in 5 floors. The height of the building was 25 meters and it was 25000 square meters at the base in the zenith. Seven gates connected the holy area of Tchoge Zambil to the outside world. There had been three temples with paved yards and several storerooms for weapons and other tools in the complex. Erosion has damaged the building, especially the upper floors. Tchoga Zambil is among few Iranian buildings registered as universal heritage of UNESCO.
Watermills of Shoshtar
The remaining parts of the Sassanid watermills of sika in Shoshtar are in the center of the city beside, the Gorgor Bridge. Sassanids distributed the water of the Karun River all over the city and the surrounding areas. The complex has some rooms for resting in the hot days of the summer. Many old water_mills, and beautiful corridors enhance the beauty of the complex.
Relife Figure of Kulfereh_Lzeh
Kulfereh is a valley 7 kilometers away from lzeh in Khuzestan Province. It has 6 relife figures dating from the Elamite era. Elamits were a tribe ruling over southwestern parts of Iran Plateau in 3200 BC. The Elamite Civilization is among the most ancient ones in the world.
Imam Reza ‘s Shine_Mashhad
The holy shirne of Imam Reza(the 8 leader of Shia) and the surrounding buildings from the complex of Astan_e_Quds_e Razavi. The complex consists of courtyards of Atigh (old) and new, the mosque of Goharshad, seminaries of Balasar, Dodar and Parizad, museum and library. The mausoleom of Sheikh Bahaee; Dar_ol Siyade and Dar_ol hefaz; Towhid Nameh; Balasar Mosque; Hatam Khani Dome.; Dar_ol Ziyafeh, Dar_ol Soror , Dar_ol Salam. Mirza Ja’far and mostashar Seminaries; the Golden Water Foutain; etc. The shrine of Imam Reza is a rectangular space that has been reconstructed several times. The first dome has been erected by Sultan Sanjar the Seljuk and his minister Sharaf_od din Qomi. It was made of tiles. The interior of present dome, decorated with mirror_worked vaults, belongs to that time. The outer dome is based on a 13.44 meters wide stem. It is nearly 31 meters high. The beautiful big inscription of the dome, written by Alireza Abbasi , in Thulth style describes the pilgrimage of King Abbas and the decorations ordered by him inside four figures in Arabic. The grave box belongs to the Qajar era.
Mausoleul of Ferdowsi
The sage Abul_Qasem Ferdowsi, the famous epic poet of Iran, was born about 329 AH in Paz near Tus City. He died in 411 AH. His main work is Shahnameh. His grave had no buildings for years. Finally his grave was recognized in 1926 and building in spried by the Cyrus tomb was erected on his grave. However, this building did’nt last so much and the whole building was completly repaired and reconstructed from 1963 to 1968. A statue of the poet that is made of a white stone stsnds in a beautiful pool.
Mausoleum of Hakim Khayyam Nishaburi
The sage Abolfath Omar ibn Ibrahim, known as Khayyam Nishaburi, was a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, and poet of Iran in the sixtg century AH. The mausoleum of the sage Omar Khayyam was designed by Hushang Seyhon in a garden thet belonged to the poet himself. The mausoleum occupies a 900 sqare meters ground.
Mausoleum of Attar Nishaburi
The mausoleum of Attar belonges to the Timurid era and has been erected on his grave by Amir Alishir Navaee. Farid_odin Attar was a famous Gnostic and poet of Iran. He is the creator of Manteq_ot Teir and Tazarat _ol Owliya. The present mausoleum is an octagonal building with a tiled dome and four entrances. The tomb is in the center and there is a 3_meter octagonal column in the center. The outer facade has 3 tiled booths.
Fakhr Dawood Caravansarai_Mashhad
The Caravansara of Fakhr Dawood is a mountainous building in the village of Fakhr Dawood near Mashhad. It has an area of 853 squer meters. The entrance of the building is in the southern wing. It has a lofty portico roofed with a arch. The guardrooms are on the sides of the entrance vesitbule. There are portholes above the alcoves and the rooms on the southern side. They have been used for shooting a well as for allowing light into the space. The outer part consists of the main wall, lookout towers, and blind arcades. They increase the beauty of the building. There is a big water reservoir near the entrance portico that shupplied water for the travelers. The lofty portico, architecture of the lookout towers, and the brick works show the architectural style specific to the timurid era. It has been repaired in the following peridos, especially in Qajar era.
Qasr_e Khorshid Kalat_e Naderi
The brick edifice of khorshid or Qasr_e khorshid was erected by the order of Nader, the founder of the Afshar dynasty. In lies inside a big 16 by 122 meters garden in the middle of the city of Kalat. It has had three floors. The third on has been destroyed. The present building has an underground and a gournd floor. The first fllor is octagonal and is based on for rows of stone stairs in a pyramidal shape. The entrances of the building are on the eight sides of the edifice. They lead to the main hall. The main entrance is at the end of the eastern portico. The palace has 12 rooms decorated with paintings and stucco_works. There is a cylindricol two_floor tower in the center of the building. It has been the residence of the king and his familly. The outer facade has battlements in Mongol_Hindi architecture. There is a round tower on the roof of the building. The tower has pilaster_like parts known as Khiyari. The facade is decorated with brown stones bearing figures of flowers and fruits of hot regions. A painting is done on the wall of the eastem part. The inner part is decorated with Koran chepters and gilded paintings. The dark undreground of the buildings has porbably been the treasury of Nader, a prison, or a tomb.
