An Iranian girls a bag of goldfish ahead of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in Tehran, Iran on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

A man wears jacket in the colors of Iranian flag as he attends the annual rally commemorating Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, February 11, 2023. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

A woman reads a newspaper with a front-page report on the crash of the Iranian president's helicopter outside a kiosk in Tehran on May 20, 2024. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on May 20 after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain region, sparking mourning in the Islamic republic. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

“Old Mursi woman”. Old woman by the huts of her village. Location: Marenke, Omo valley, Ethiopia. (Photo and caption by Jorge Fernandez/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

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Few people haven’t heard about the ancient city of Persepolis, which lies at the foot of the Mountain of Mercy (Kuh-I-Rahmat). In ancient times, Persepolis was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Regretfully, it was burned by the Greeks in 330 BC after they looted the immense treasure of this city. It is said that Greeks needed 5,000 camels and 20,000 mules to carry all the treasures from Persepolis. The only thing of Persepolis that has survived the wear of time is the ginormous stone terrace 530 by 330 meters adorned by elaborate stone sculptures. It is amazing how intricately detailed some of the sculptures are, despite the fact that they were created many centuries ago.

One of the two wooden rafts of the Kon-Tiki II expedition is prepared at the port of Callao prior to the departure to Pascua island in Chile, in Callao, Peru, October 30, 2015. Fourteen men from various parts of the world set out on rafts to commemorate the Norwegian navigator Thor Heyerdahl expedition 68 years ago. The original raft crossed the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian Islands. This rafts are a replica of ships used 6,000 years ago, but will be equipped with solar panel. (Photo by Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

In this photo provided by Tasnim News Agency, relatives weep over the body of an earthquake victim, in Sarpol-e-Zahab, western Iran, Monday, November 13, 2017. An earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale rocked northern Iraq and Iran, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Sunday evening. Photo by Farzad Menati/Tasnim News Agency via AP Photo)

In this picture taken on Saturday, January 31, 2015, Zohreh Etezadossaltaneh, center, talks on her mobile phone, held with her foot, during a meeting at her friend's home in Tehran, Iran. Now 52 years old, the retired Iranian teacher who was born without arms has dedicated herself to helping others with similar disabilities live full and satisfying lives. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)