IRAN // Few ancient ruined cities possess as much power to beguile as Persepolis. This Unesco-listed site was the epicentre of the great Persian empire of antiquity, and the monumental staircases and imposing gateways leave you in no doubt how grand this civilisation was, just as the broken and fallen columns attest that its end - at the hands of Alexander the Great - was merciless. Like the ancient foreign dignitaries were, visitors are ushered in through the immense Gate of All Nations, still guarded by two colossal winged bulls. Thousands of bas-relief stone soldiers line the walls of the Apadana Staircase, and elaborate panels show delegations from across the Achaemenid Empire bringing local gifts to the king. In something of a roll call of history, the Ethiopians begin the frieze and are joined by Arabs, Thracians, Kasmiris, Parthians, Cappadocians, Elamites, Egyptians and Medians. The Palace of 100 Columns was one of the two main reception areas for meetings with the king, and enough of the poignant ruins and broken columns remain today to let visitors imagine the height of its grandeur.