Stefan Radovanov said “I had read about Iran and its historical site but now I am surprised by the glory of the Persepolis”.

Persepolis manifests the glory of ancient Iranian and the talent of carving, CHTN quoted him as saying.

“It is the first time that I travelled to Iran. I would like to bring my family to Iran,” he said.

In response to a question on whether he would be producing a radio program about Persepolis, he said “certainly and one of my main programs is to produce a program about Shiraz to introduce its historical and tourism attractions to the Bulgarians“.

Persepolis or Takht-e Jamshid was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid Dynasty. Persepolis is situated 70 km northeast of Shiraz in Fars province. The earliest remains of Persepolis date from around 515 BC. To the ancient Persians, the city was known as P‰rsa, which means “The City of Persians“.

UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.

The first westerner to visit the ruins of Persepolis was Antonio de Gouveia, from Portugal, who wrote about the cuneiform inscriptions following his visit in 1602. His first written report on Persia, the “Jornada“ was published in 1606.

The first scientific excavations at Persepolis were carried out by Ernst Herzfeld and Erich F Schmidt representing the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Excavations were conducted for eight seasons beginning in 1930 and included other nearby sites.

Herzfeld believed the reasons behind the construction of Persepolis were the need for a majestic atmosphere, a symbol for their empire, and to celebrate special events, especially the “Nowruz“. For historical reasons, Persepolis was built where the Achaemenid Dynasty was founded, although it was not the center of the empire at that time.

Buildings at Persepolis include three general groupings: military quarters, the treasury and reception halls and occasional houses for the king.