Otherwise known as the Achaemenid Empire, the First Persian Empire was founded by ruler Cyrus the Great in the 6th Century BC. The Empire gradually expanded into the largest empire the world had seen at the time, controlling regions as far as the Indus River to the East and the Balkans and Macedonia to the west.
Read more
In keeping with Shiraz’s troubled history, the festival of Moharram, the Holy Week of Mourning, commiserates the legendary leader Imam Hussain who died a thousand years ago.
Read more
Even in these austere and sanctioned times, if you want to rub shoulders with Iran’s high society, head for the slopes. If you are a ‘nouveau riche’ Iranian there is no better place to be seen than skiing the Alborz Mountains around Tehran.
Read more
What do you get if you mix giant moustaches, floral pants, stunning tile work, poetry readings, enormous clubs, and sky-high levels of testosterone? If you think the outcome might be some kind of religious gym, you’d be right.
Read more
One of the world’s largest trees, the California Redwood, is alive and well – in Britain – according to scientists named in a BBC report.
Read more