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.

Agueda in Portugal is the setting for this wonderful installation by Sextafeira called Floating Umbrellas. This colorful creation is a part of the Agitagueda art festival. Due to the fact that the same idea was used last year this is the second time the streets of this town have been covered with loads of vivid umbrellas, providing shade, as well as a wonderful sight. The people loved it so much that the repetitive nature of the installation does not carry the risk of becoming boring, but rather turning into a wonderful tradition.

Surrender by Jenkin Van Zyl, a surreal installation at Fact Liverpool on November 16, 2023 featuring film and sculptural works inside a large inflatable silver rat. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

People appear dangling as a large-scale installation art piece by Leandro Erlich, named “Dalston House”, in London, England. Part of the “Beyond Barbican” summer series of events, the interactive installation is a full facade of a late nineteenth-century Victorian terraced house built on the ground with a large mirror above it to reflect people as to appear dangling from the structure. (Photo by Dan Dennison)

People visit the sunflowers installation, which is a part of the immersive exhibition “Van Gogh Alive” featuring large scale of Van Gogh artworks, produced by Grande Experiences during a media event in Tokyo on January 11, 2024. (Photo by Philip Fong/AFP Photo)

Ukrainian teenagers hit each other with pillows during a large pillow fight in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 24 April 2016. About hundred people took part in the event “Pillow battle 2016” in Kiev. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)

“YagYang”. The Apatani are tribal people living in north east of India in the region of Arunachal Pradesh. Tattooing and stuffing of large nose plugs is the particularity of these women. YagYang 75 years old, her husband passed away few months ago and she feels very alone, during my visit I was very fond of this woman and I wanted to spend some more time with her, so I asked her which was her favorite dish. The next day i returned with the fresh fish, as she mentioned, and when she saw me she was very happy and welcomed me with a big smile. Photo location: India. (Photo and caption by Passarini Mattia/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Jeff Friesen's photography project entitled 'The Canadian: Ghost Train Crossing Canada' appears to show a train crossing Canada - but, in fact, the train is just two inches tall. His work captures the travels of a scale model vintage 1955 streamliner passenger train against picturesque landscapes.