A 90-minute flight (or an hour 20 minutes by road) from Teheran, Isfahan is Iran's third largest city (pop. 1.9 million), and once the capital of Persia. Its heyday was between the 9th and 18 centuries, and much of that legacy is still around to visit, including gracious Perso–Islamic architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Its central square is Naqsh-e Jahan, dating from the end of the 16th century and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(Dolphinphoto5d)