HI, I'M RICK STEVES, IN WHAT JUST MIGHT BE THE MOST FASCINATING AND SURPRISING LAND I'VE EVER VISITED.

WE'RE IN IRAN, HERE TO LEARN, TO UNDERSTAND, AND TO MAKE SOME FRIENDS.

THANKS FOR JOINING US.

LIKE MOST AMERICANS, I KNOW ALMOST NOTHING ABOUT IRAN.

FOR ME, THIS IS A JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY.

WHAT ARE MY HOPES?

TO ENJOY A RICH AND FASCINATING CULTURE, TO GET TO KNOW A NATION THAT'S A LEADER IN ITS CORNER OF THE WORLD, AND HAS BEEN FOR 2,500 YEARS, AND TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE 70 MILLION PEOPLE WHO CALL THIS PLACE HOME.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE'LL EXPLORE THE HISTORIC CAPITALS OF THIS HISTORIC COUNTRY.

IN ESFAHAN, WE'LL VISIT ITS EXTRAORDINARY MOSQUES AND GO TO FRIDAY PRAYERS.

THEN WE'LL ROAD-TRIP TO A CARAVANSERAI ON THE OLD SILK ROAD.

IN SHIRAZ, WE'LL VISIT THE TOMBS OF IRAN'S MOST BELOVED POETS.

THEN WE'LL ENJOY THE HOSPITALITY OF A FAMILY DINNER, BEFORE VISITING THE SPLENDID MONUMENTS OF IRAN'S RICH AND GLORIOUS PAST AT PERSEPOLIS.

MOST IMPORTANT, WE'LL MEET AND TALK WITH THE PEOPLE WHOSE GOVERNMENT SO EXASPERATES AMERICA.

THE SITUATION IS OPEN.

IRAN, TWICE THE SIZE OF FRANCE, SITS EAST OF EUROPE IN AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT CORNER OF ASIA, SURROUNDED BY TURKEY, IRAQ, PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN.

WE START IN ESFAHAN, HEAD SOUTH TO SHIRAZ, AND FINISH IN PERSEPOLIS.

KNOWING WE'RE HERE TO EXPLORE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DIMENSIONS RATHER THAN CONTENTIOUS POLITICAL ISSUES, THE IRANIAN GOVERNMENT IS ALLOWING OUR WORK.

IT BELIEVES THE WESTERN MEDIA HAS GIVEN IRAN AN UNFAIR IMAGE.

THEY GAVE US OUR VISAS PROVIDED WE RESPECT ITS LIMITS, AS ENFORCED BY OUR GUIDE.

HIS JOB -- KEEP US SAFE, MANAGE THE COMPLICATED PERMISSIONS, AND KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT WE'RE SHOOTING.

OUR FIRST STOP IS A RELIGIOUS CAPITAL, ESFAHAN.

THE CITY, WITH A MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE, IS A SHOWCASE OF PERSIAN SPLENDOR.

ONE OF FINEST CITIES IN ISLAM, AND THE CULTURAL HEART OF IRAN, IT'S FAMOUS FOR ITS DAZZLING BLUE-TILED DOMES AND ROMANTIC BRIDGES.

IRANIANS COME HERE TO BOTH CONNECT WITH THEIR HERITAGE AND TO CELEBRATE IT.

I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT THIS CITY IS IN IRAN'S NUMBER-ONE HONEYMOON DESTINATION.

ALONG WITH BEING ROMANTIC, ESFAHAN IS JUST PLAIN ENJOYABLE.

ITS MAIN BOULEVARD IS A DELIGHT, GIVING THE VISITOR A SLICE-OF-LIFE LOOK AT TODAY'S COMMERCE.

IT'S A BUSTLING SCENE, AS ENTERTAINING FOR ITS PEOPLE-WATCHING AS IT IS FOR ITS WINDOW-SHOPPING.

WE FOUND THE PEOPLE IN ESFAHAN WERE AS FRIENDLY AND WILLING TO TALK TO US AS THEY WERE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.

WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

NOUSHIN.

THANK YOU, YOUR HEART IS KIND, TOO.

YEAH?

CAN I TAKE YOUR PHOTOGRAPH?

AH.

OKAY -- HELLO!

THANK YOU.

AMERICAN AND IRAN, WE CAN BE FRIENDS.

ME, TOO.

THE CHEHEL SOTOUN PALACE IS A VIVID REMINDER THAT ESFAHAN WAS THE CAPITAL OF PERSIA 400 YEARS AGO.

WITH ITS REFLECTING POOL AND FINE GARDENS, THE PALACE GIVES YOU A SENSE OF PERSIA'S 16th- AND 17th-CENTURY GOLDEN AGE.

THE PORTICO FEATURES 20 SLENDER AND STATELY WOODEN COLUMNS.

THE ENTRANCE SHOWS THE GEOMETRIC MOTIF THE PERSIANS WERE FAMOUS FOR.

TWINKLING MIRRORS LURE YOU INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE PALACE.

I WAS STRUCK BY THE ELEGANCE AND GRACE OF ISLAMIC PERSIA AT ITS ZENITH.

WITH TENDER DANCERS, FLOWING HAIR, AND DASHING MOUSTACHES, THE SUMPTUOUS RICHNESS OF THIS CULTURE COMES ACROSS IN THESE FINE PAINTINGS.

IN ESFAHAN, EVERYTHING SEEMS TO RADIATE FROM THE GRAND IMAM SQUARE -- IT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

LIKE SO MUCH IN IRAN THAT PRIOR TO 1979 WAS NAMED FOR THE SHAH, NOW IT'S NAMED AFTER KHOMEINI, THE GREAT IMAM, AS LEADING MUSLIM TEACHERS ARE CALLED.

TWO STRIKING MOSQUES FACE IMAM SQUARE.

THE SMALLER MOSQUE WAS BUILT FOR THE WOMEN OF THE SHAH'S HAREM.

UNDER ITS COLORFUL DOME, LATTICE WINDOWS ILLUMINATE INTRICATE MOSAIC WORK.

THE IMAM MOSQUE, ONE OF THE HOLIEST IN IRAN, IS BOTH HUGE AND BEAUTIFUL, WITH THE ELABORATE DECORATION TYPICAL OF PERSIAN MOSQUES.

IT HAS EXQUISITE TILE WORK, AND WAS CONSTRUCTED IN THE EARLY 1600s.

THAT'S ABOUT WHEN BERNINI WAS REDOING ST. PETER'S BASILICA AND EUROPE WAS IN ITS BAROQUE AGE.

ITS TOWERING FACADE IS AS STRIKING AS THE GRANDEST CATHEDRALS OF EUROPE.

BUT ISLAM FORBIDS IMAGES.

THEREFORE, RATHER THAN THE CARVED STATUES YOU'D FIND DECORATING A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, A MOSQUE HAS DECORATIVE DESIGNS AND SCRIPT.

THIS CREATES A VISUAL CHANT OF QUR'ANIC VERSES PRAISING ALLAH, OR GOD.

LOCALS BELIEVE THAT THE COLOR PATTERN OF THE TILES -- LIGHT TURKISH BLUE AND DARK PERSIAN BLUE -- IS CALMING, AND CONTRIBUTES TO SPIRITUAL HEALING.

[ MAN SINGING PRAYER ] THIS MOSQUE'S CANTOR IS HAPPY TO DEMONSTRATE THE SPLENDID ACOUSTICS OF ITS 17th-CENTURY DOME.

[ SINGING PRAYER ] WE'RE HERE, IT SEEMS, WITH MUCH OF ESFAHAN FOR FRIDAY PRAYERS.

FILLED WITH THOUSANDS OF WORSHIPPERS, THE MOSQUE COMES TO LIFE.

THIS SCENE STRUCK ME AS SIMILAR TO A CHURCH SERVICE BACK HOME -- SERMON...

RESPONSIVE READING... LOTS OF PRAYER... LOTS OF GETTING UP, AND GETTING DOWN.

BUT THERE ARE PERPLEXING DIFFERENCES.

WOMEN WORSHIP IN A SEPARATE SECTION.

SOLDIERS STAND GUARD AMONG THE WORSHIPPERS, A REMINDER OF THE TENSIONS WITHIN TODAY'S ISLAMIC WORLD.

AND THE SEEMINGLY INNOCUOUS YELLOW BANNER IN THE BACKGROUND PROCLAIMS, "DEATH TO ISRAEL."

THIS DISTURBING MIX OF POLITICS AND RELIGION APPARENTLY RESULTS FROM A DEEP-SEATED RESENTMENT OF WESTERN CULTURE IMPOSED ON THEIR WORLD.

ESFAHAN, AS A RELIGIOUS CENTER, IS AN IDEAL PLACE TO TRY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND COMPLEXITIES LIKE THESE.

OFFICIALLY, THIS IS THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.

IT'S A SHIITE MUSLIM THEOCRACY, THERE'S NO SEPARATION OF MOSQUE AND STATE.

THE CONSTITUTION DOES ALLOW FOR OTHER RELIGIONS, AS LONG AS THEY DON'T OFFEND ISLAM.

A MAJOR CONCERN -- MUHAMMAD, WHO CAME IN THE 7th CENTURY, IS CONSIDERED THE LAST PROPHET.

THAT'S WHY SUNNI MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS, AND JEWS ARE TOLERATED, BUT BAHAIS, WHOSE PROPHET, BAHA'U'LLAH, CAME IN THE 19th CENTURY, ARE NOT.

TOLERANCE?

TO A DEGREE.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?

WELL, LET'S PUT IT THIS WAY -- IF YOU WANT TO GET ANYWHERE IN IRAN'S MILITARY OR GOVERNMENT, YOU BETTER BE A PRACTICING SHIITE MUSLIM.

IRANIANS ARE PREDOMINATELY SHIITE MUSLIM, NOT SUNNI MUSLIM.

STRUGGLING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE, I ASKED OUR LOCAL GUIDE, MR. SEYED REHIM BATHAEI, TO EXPLAIN.

SO, THERE ARE MORE THAN A BILLION MUSLIMS ON THIS PLANET, SOME ARE SUNNI, SOME ARE SHIITE.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

DIFFERENCE IS VERY SIMPLE.

THEY WERE SPLIT AFTER THE DEATH OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD, AND IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF 7th CENTURY.

AND IT WAS OVER THE SUCCESSION OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD -- THOSE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVED IN ALI AS A SUCCESSOR OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD, AND ALSO HIS DESCENDANTS, WERE SHIITE -- BECAME SHIITE.

AND THOSE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN THIS SYSTEM, WE CALL THEM SUNNIS.

GOOD SUNNI, GOOD SHIITE DIE, DO THEY BOTH GO TO HEAVEN?

THEY BOTH GO TO HEAVEN -- THAT'S THE SAME FOR SUNNI AND SHIITES -- THERE ARE ONLY MINOR DIFFERENCES.

BUT THESE DIFFERENCES SEEM SMALL, BUT STILL MANY PEOPLE ARE DYING, AND I READ IN THE NEWS, SUNNI FIGHTING SHIITE.

OF COURSE, PROTESTANTS HAVE FOUGHT CATHOLICS, AND MANY PEOPLE WERE DYING -- TODAY, IN ISLAM, SUNNI AND SHIITE ARE FIGHTING -- WHY IS THAT?

JUST CONSIDER THAT MANY NATIONS HAVE FOUGHT EACH OTHER DURING THE COURSE OF HISTORY.

NOT ALL OF IT HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF RELIGION.

BUT THERE'S SO MUCH BLOODSHED BETWEEN SUNNIS AND SHIITES.

IN THE 1980s, ONE MILLION CASUALTIES BETWEEN SUNNI IRAQ AND SHIITE IRAN.

WHY DO THEY FIGHT AND SHED BLOOD WHEN THE DIFFERENCES SEEM SO SMALL?

BECAUSE IT WASN'T A RELIGIOUS WAR.

IT HAS GOT NOTHING TO DO FOR BEING A SHIITE OR SUNNI.

THAT WAS A TERRITORIAL THING.

AND ALSO AMBITIONS OF A DICTATOR, SADDAM HUSSEIN.

ECONOMIC EXPANSION, NATIONALISM.

NATIONALISM, ECONOMIC EXPANSION, SOME HELP FROM SUPERPOWERS.

I THINK THE BEST EXAMPLE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE WEST TO UNDERSTAND THESE MATTERS BETWEEN SHIITES AND SUNNIS IS THIS EXAMPLE OF ENGLAND AND IRELAND.

HMM.

WHATEVER THE ROOT CAUSES -- RELIGIOUS OR NATIONALISM, THE SUNNI AND SHIITE MUSLIMS SHARE A BLOODY PAST.

AND THE CONFLICT CONTINUES.

LIKE CITIES THROUGHOUT IRAN, ESFAHAN HAS A CEMETERY DEDICATED TO THE ESTIMATED 200,000 IRANIAN "MARTYRS" -- AS ANYONE WHO DIES IN A RELIGIOUS OR NATIONAL WAR IS CALLED -- OF THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR.

ALL THE PORTRAITS AND ALL THE DATES ARE FROM THE 1980s.

TODAY, OVER TWO DECADES LATER, THE CEMETERY IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE WITH MOURNING LOVED ONES.

WHILE THE UNITED STATES LIVES WITH THE SCARS OF VIETNAM, A GENERATION OF IRANIANS LIVE WITH THE SCARS OF THEIR WAR WITH IRAQ -- A WAR IN WHICH IRAN, WITH ONE QUARTER OF OUR POPULATION, SUFFERED MANY TIMES THE DEATHS.

IT'S TRADITIONAL IN IRAN TO PICNIC AT THE GRAVE SITES OF LOST LOVED ONES.

WE MET TWO FAMILIES, WHO EACH LOST A SON IN THE WAR, SHARING A MEAL.

THEY FIRST MET HERE 20 YEARS AGO AND BECAME FRIENDS.

THEIR SURVIVING CHILDREN MARRIED.

AND THEY'VE SHARED MEMORIAL MEALS TOGETHER HERE AT THE TOMBS OF THEIR LOST SONS EVER SINCE.

STRADDLING ITS RIVER, ESFAHAN IS FAMOUS FOR ITS MARVELOUS BRIDGES, WHICH DATE TO THE 17th CENTURY.

AND BETWEEN THOSE BRIDGES, STRETCHING FOR SIX MILES ON EITHER BANK, IS A MUCH-LOVED CITY PARK.

THIS IS WHERE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS GATHER OVER A POT OF TEA OR A BOX OF SWEETS.

HERE ON THE RIVERBANK, I WAS STRUCK BY THE TRANQUILITY OF THE SCENE, FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO SEEMED TO BE THOROUGHLY ENJOYING LIFE'S SIMPLE BLESSINGS.

I LOVE IT IN THE LAST HOUR OF DAY WHEN EVERYBODY'S OUT, AND HERE IN ESFAHAN, IT'S DOWN TO THE RIVERBANK.

YOU KNOW, ALL OVER EUROPE, YOU'VE GOT THIS PASSEGGIATA, PASEO, PEOPLE ARE OUT DURING THE MAGIC HOUR.

DIDN'T EXPECT TO FIND IT HERE IN IRAN, BUT, BOY, THEY'VE GOT IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE WORD IS IN FARSI...

BUT THEY'VE GOT THE PASEO.

LIKE THE PASEO, IT'S A SOCIAL SCENE FILLED WITH YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN AND FAMILIES ENJOYING THE MOMENT.

ANY INTERACTION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN SEEMED VERY DISCREET.

STILL, EVEN WITH THE CONSTRAINTS OF DRESS AND BEHAVIOR, I SENSED A CONFIDENCE AND YOUTHFUL VITALITY.

TO ME, THESE YOUNG PEOPLE FELT LIKE THE FUTURE OF IRAN.

THEY HAD A MODERN SENSIBILITY AND SEEMED WELL EDUCATED.

I HAVE MANY FRIENDS IN AMERICA THAT ARE CURIOUS ABOUT IRAN.

WHAT CAN YOU TELL THEM?

WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU GIVE TO MY FRIENDS?

YOUR FRIENDS?

YEAH?

THAT'S GOOD TO HEAR.

BECAUSE WE LOVE -- WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND THE PEOPLE OF IRAN, AND IF WE CAN MAKE FRIENDS, IT'S A GOOD THING, I THINK.

YEAH, IS GREAT.

DO YOU HAVE FRIENDS THAT YOU COME TO SEE ON THE RIVER?

ON THE RIVER?

NO.

WE JUST COME HERE WITH OUR FAMILIES.

MIGHT YOU MEET A BOY DOWN HERE?

NO, WE DON'T MEET A BOY, USUALLY.

WHERE DO YOU MEET A BOY?

WHERE?

SOMEDAY YOU MUST MEET A BOY.

I CAN BE -- WE'LL MEET A BOY, BUT... WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO FIND A BOY.

YOU'RE NOT -- OH, THEY FIND YOU?

YEAH, THEY FIND US.

REALLY?

HOW DOES THAT WORK?

OKAY, IT REALLY WORKS.

DOES IT WORK OKAY?

SO YOU HAVE NO WORRIES ABOUT THIS?

NO, NO WORRIES.

THAT YOU'LL BE HAPPY.

THAT'S GOOD, I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY.

VERY NICE TO MEET YOU.

YOU, TOO -- SAME HERE.

AS THE SUN GOES DOWN, THE PEOPLE OF ESFAHAN ALSO GATHER IN IMAM SQUARE, AS IF TO SAVOR THE BEAUTY OF THEIR CITY AT TWILIGHT.

HEADING FURTHER SOUTH, I WAS IMPRESSED BY BOTH THE VASTNESS AND THE STARK BEAUTY OF THE ARID COUNTRYSIDE.

THE FERTILE RIVER VALLEYS STILL GROW GRAIN AS THEY HAVE FOR AGES.

AND, USING TECHNOLOGY FROM THE DAYS OF DAVID AND GOLIATH, A FARMER SLINGS A ROCK TO FRIGHTEN THE BIRDS OFF HIS BARLEY.

AND JUST ACROSS THE STREAM STANDS A CARAVANSERAI -- A ROADSIDE INN GOING BACK TO THE MIDDLE AGES AND THE DAYS OF MARCO POLO.

IRAN SERVED AS A THOROUGHFARE FOR THE LEGENDARY SILK ROAD.

IT WAS A 5,000-MILE-LONG TRADE ROUTE CONNECTING CHINA AND ISTANBUL -- THE GATEWAY TO EUROPE.

ALONG THE ENTIRE ROUTE, EVERY 30 MILES OR SO -- THAT WOULD BE A DAY'S JOURNEY BY CAMEL -- THERE WAS A REST STOP PROVIDING A SAFE AND SECURE OVERNIGHT FOR THE CARAVANS.

SEEING THE SHAFTS OF LIGHT SWIRLING WITH ANCIENT DUST, IT'S EASY TO IMAGINE THE SMELL OF COOK FIRES SO MANY CENTURIES AGO, AND THE CACOPHONY OF SOUNDS AS TRAVELERS TOOK SHELTER WITHIN THESE WALLS.

I FIND THESE CARAVANSERAI EVOCATIVE.

IMAGINE THIS FORTIFIED COMPLEX PROVIDING A SAFE REFUGE FOR THE NIGHT, COMPLETE WITH RESTAURANT, GOOD PLACE TO PARK THE CAMEL, MARKET, ENTERTAINMENT, AND A GREAT PLACE TO CATCH UP ON THE LATEST NEWS.

A COUPLE MORE HOURS TO THE SOUTHWEST IS SHIRAZ, A BOOMING CITY OF OVER A MILLION PEOPLE.

ANOTHER CENTER OF PERSIAN CULTURE, SHIRAZ IS A SOPHISTICATED CITY.

ITS IMPRESSIVE CITADEL, WITH FINE BRICKWORK, SURVIVES FROM WHEN THIS WAS THE CAPITAL OF PERSIA, 200 YEARS AGO.

SHIRAZ IS FAMOUS AS THE HOME OF BELOVED PERSIAN POETS.

PERHAPS THE TWO GREATEST WERE HAFEZ AND SAADI, WHO LIVED HERE CENTURIES AGO.

GARDENS SPRAWL OUT FROM THE POETS' TOMBS, WITH TRANQUIL CORNERS PROVIDED TO PONDER THE MYSTICAL BRILLIANCE OF THESE PROPHETS OF LOVE.

EVEN IN OUR RUSHED MODERN WORLD, IRANIANS TAKE TIME TO SLOW DOWN AND BE MEDITATIVE.

FRIENDS AND FAMILIES GATHER HERE TO SHARE THEIR POETRY.

HAFEZ, WHO LIVED IN THE EARLY 14th CENTURY, IS ENTOMBED BENEATH THIS ORNATE CANOPY IN THIS PEACEFUL GARDEN.

HIS LYRICAL POEMS ARE NOTED FOR THEIR BEAUTY.

THEY DRAW UPON THEMES OF LOVE, MYSTICISM, AND EARLY SUFI TEACHINGS.

HE IS REVERED, AND HIS POETRY IS STILL ENORMOUSLY INFLUENTIAL ON THE IRANIAN PEOPLE.

THE TOMB OF SHEIKH SAADI HAS A SIMILAR IMPACT ON PEOPLE FROM ALL LEVELS OF IRANIAN SOCIETY.

WRITING IN THE 13th CENTURY, HIS WORDS STILL STIR THE SOULS OF IRANIANS.

THIS IS RICK.

NICE TO MEET YOU.

VISITORS ARE WELCOMED INTO IRANIAN HOMES AS HONORED GUESTS.

WE'VE BEEN INVITED INTO A FAIRLY WEALTHY FAMILY'S HOME FOR DINNER AND A LOOK AT THE MODERN DOMESTIC SCENE.

THEIR HOME IS AS CONTEMPORARY AND UP TO DATE AS YOU'D FIND ANYWHERE.

BECAUSE WE'RE HERE WITH OUR CAMERA, THE WOMEN ARE DRESSED MORE CONSERVATIVELY THAN THEY WOULD BE IF THEY WERE JUST HERE WITH THEIR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

TIME AND TIME AGAIN WE EXPERIENCED HOW, IN ISLAM, VISITORS ARE CONSIDERED A GIFT OF GOD, AND TREATED AS SUCH WITH GENEROUS HOSPITALITY.

AND TONIGHT, THAT INCLUDES A WONDERFUL MEAL.

Man: THIS IS CALLED IRANIAN KEBAB.

THIS IS CHICKEN.

SO THIS WOULD BE LAMB, MOSTLY?

YEAH, MOSTLY LAMB.

DO YOU SAY "BON APPETIT" -- IS THERE ANY WORD LIKE THAT?

NOOSHE JAN. YEAH -- NOOSHE JAN. NOOSHE JAN.

THE SAME AS BON APPETIT.

BEFORE I KNOW IT, MY PLATE'S FILLED WITH FISH, KEBABS, TWO KINDS OF RICE, EGGPLANT, AND TOMATOES.

YOU UNDERSTAND, YOU'RE LISTENING.

THE CONVERSATION IS AS LIVELY AS AT ANY HOME I'VE VISITED IN EUROPE.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO EAT WELL IN IRAN, MAKE SOME FRIENDS.

AND DESSERT CAME WITH A SURPRISE... HEY, LOOK AT THIS!

♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪ ♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ♪ OH, YOU GUYS!

PUFF THE CANDLES.

PUFF 'EM OUT?

[ APPLAUDING ] OH!

MAMNUN!

MAMNUN VERY MUCH.

AN HOUR'S DRIVE FROM SHIRAZ TAKES US TO PERSEPOLIS, THE DAZZLING CAPITAL OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE BACK WHEN IT REACHED FROM GREECE ALL THE WAY TO INDIA.

BUILT BY DARIUS AND HIS SON XERXES THE GREAT, AROUND 500 BC, THIS WAS THE AWE-INSPIRING HOME OF THE KING OF KINGS FOR NEARLY 200 YEARS.

I'D ALWAYS DREAMED OF VISITING PERSEPOLIS, AND IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT.

FOR ME, THIS IS THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ANCIENT SITE BETWEEN THE HOLY LAND AND INDIA.

THE VAST COMPLEX IS A SERIES OF ROYAL PALACES BUILT ON A MASSIVE ELEVATED TERRACE.

AT THE TIME, PERSIA WAS SO MIGHTY, NO FORTIFICATIONS WERE NEEDED.

STILL, 10,000 GUARDS SERVED AT THE PLEASURE OF THE EMPEROR.

AT THE NATIONS GATE, DIGNITARIES FROM THE 28 NATIONS SUBJUGATED BY PERSIA ENTERED "WE'RE NOT WORTHY" STYLE, TO PAY THEIR TAXES AND HUMBLE RESPECT TO THE EMPEROR.

CUNEIFORM INSCRIPTIONS FROM 500 BC SAY THE SAME THING IN THREE LANGUAGES -- ESSENTIALLY, "THE KING IS EMPOWERED BY GOD.

"SUBMIT TOTALLY TO HIM FOR THE GOOD OF PERSIA.

ALL NATIONS CAN LIVE IN PEACE IF YOU ARE COMPLIANT."

THE PALACE OF XERXES IS CALLED THE COLUMNED PALACE BECAUSE IT ONCE HAD 72 COLUMNS.

THE UNIQUELY DECORATIVE PERSIAN CAPITALS RECALL THE DISTINCT POWER AND PRIDE OF THIS CIVILIZATION.

IMAGINE ITS IMMENSE ROOF SPANNED BY PRECIOUS LEBANESE CEDAR CARRIED ALL THE WAY FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN.

IT WAS UNDER XERXES THAT THE PERSIANS DEFEATED THE GREEKS AND BURNED AND PILLAGED ATHENS IN 480 BC.

NEXT TO THE COLUMNED PALACE IS THE THRONE HALL, MARKED BY ITS DISTINCTIVE COLLECTION OF MIGHTY DOORWAYS.

THE THRONE HALL WAS USED MAINLY FOR RECEPTIONS FOR MILITARY COMMANDERS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF ALL THE SUBJUGATED NATIONS OF THE EMPIRE.

THE FRAMES ARE ELABORATELY DECORATED.

EVOCATIVE RELIEFS SURVIVE THROUGHOUT THE RUINS OF PERSEPOLIS.

SUPPLICANTS GRACEFULLY CLIMBED THE SAME STEPS WE DO, BRINGING OFFERINGS TO THE KING.

LIONS, A SYMBOL OF MIGHT, REPRESENTED BOTH THE KING AND THE POWER OF THE SEASONS.

IN THIS REOCCURRING SCENE, A LION KILLS A BULL -- SYMBOLIZING SPRING KILLING WINTER AND BRINGING NEW LIFE.

THEN, AS TODAY, IRANIANS CELEBRATED THEIR NEW YEAR ON THE 21st OF MARCH, THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING.

THE FIGURE ON THE EAGLE'S WING, THAT SYMBOL OF THE ZOROASTRIAN FAITH, IS A REMINDER THAT THE KING'S POWER CAME FROM AHURA MAZDA, THE ZOROASTRIAN GOD.

IMAGINE THIS PLACE AT ITS ZENITH -- THE CEREMONIAL HEADQUARTERS OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

COMING HERE, YOU HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS.

BEING HERE, THEY ARE EXCEEDED.

IRANIANS VISIT WITH A GREAT SENSE OF PRIDE.

FOR AN AMERICAN, IT'D BE LIKE HAVING MONTICELLO, CAPE CANAVERAL, AND MOUNT RUSHMORE ALL ROLLED INTO ONE MAGNIFICENT SITE.

GIGANTIC ROYAL TOMBS, REMINISCENT OF THOSE BUILT FOR EGYPTIAN PHARAOHS, ARE CUT INTO THE ADJACENT MOUNTAINSIDE.

THE SCALE OF DARIUS' AND XERXES' TOMBS IS INTENDED TO DWARF THE MERE MORTALS VIEWING THEM.

EACH COMES WITH HUGE CARVED RELIEFS DISPLAYING THEIR BATTLE PROWESS.

EVEN TODAY, 2,500 YEARS AFTER THEIR DEATHS, THEY'RE REMINDING US OF THEIR GREAT POWER.

AS HISTORY HAS TAUGHT US, NO EMPIRE LASTS FOREVER.

IN 333 BC, PERSEPOLIS WAS SACKED AND BURNED BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT -- THE MACEDONIAN GREEK WHO TURNED THE TIDE AGAINST THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

ENDING PERSIAN DOMINANCE, ALEXANDER SPREAD HIS GREEK CULTURE ALL THE WAY TO INDIA, AND PERSEPOLIS HAS BEEN IN RUINS EVER SINCE.

IRAN IS AN ANCIENT AND PROUD LAND WITH A RICH CULTURE.

TRAVELING HERE, IT FELT LIKE A PARADOX, ITS CONTRADICTIONS DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND.

WHILE OUR GOVERNMENTS MAY BE AT ODDS, THE PEOPLE WE MET WERE CONSISTENTLY CURIOUS, GENEROUS, AND FRIENDLY.

I FOUND THAT, LIKE IN MY COUNTRY, THERE'S A TENSION BETWEEN MODERN AND TRADITIONAL, LIBERAL AND CONSERVATIVE, SECULAR AND RELIGIOUS.

MAYBE WE'RE ALL JUST STRUGGLING TO DEFEND THE MORAL FABRIC OF OUR RESPECTIVE SOCIETIES.

I'VE BEEN WONDERING TO WHAT EXTENT THE USA-IRAN TENSIONS MIGHT BE EXPLAINED BY CARING PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES MOTIVATED BY LOVE AND FEAR.

AND THE FLIP SIDE OF FEAR IS UNDERSTANDING.

I CAME TO IRAN A LITTLE NERVOUS.

I LEAVE IMPRESSED MORE BY WHAT WE HAVE IN COMMON THAN BY OUR DIFFERENCES.

I'VE OVERCOME MY FEAR BY GETTING TO KNOW THE IRANIAN PEOPLE.

GRANTED, THERE ARE NO EASY SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS CONFRONTING OUR TWO NATIONS.

BUT SURELY GETTING TO KNOW THIS CULTURE IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

I'M RICK STEVES -- HAPPY TRAVELS.

AND AS THEY SAY HERE, "PEACE BE UPON US."