Kermanshah

Kermanshah is the capital of Kermanshah Province in the west of Iran with a population of almost 850,000 people. It was previously called Bakhtaran in the 1980s. The city is located 1200 m above sea level and enjoys a temperate climate and regular seasons. Most of the Kermanshah residents are Kurds who are from original Aryan people. Kermanshah is the second royal Sassanid accomodation and one of the tourism cities with natural, historical and cultural attraction of Iran.

The tourist attractions of Kermanshah are:

Taq-e Bostan
Taq-e Bostan is located  4km north of Kermanshah city. The gardens of Taq-e Bostan have a 2,000 years of history.  Taq-e Bostan means “Arch of the Garden”. The arch is made in a site with a series of large rock reliefs which are carved in the 4th century during the Sassanid era. According to archaeological evidence Taq-e Bostan was first constructed during Parthian times between 224-250 BC years .

The first relief
The first relief in Taq-e Bostan is a carving that shows the crowning ceremony of Ardashir II (379-383 AD). The first Taq-e Bostan relief and apparently the oldest one is a rock relief of the crowning ceremony of Ardashir II (379-383 AD). 

Bisotun
Bisotun inscription is considered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is located in Harsin County and has 42 km distance from Kermanshah. The relief is a multilingual inscription written in three different cuneiform languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian. The relief is established by Darius the Great (522-486 BC). In the inscription, Darius the Great notes: “Eight of my dynasty were kings before me; I am the ninth. Nine in succession we have been kings.”

Anahita Temple
Anahita Temple attributes to the ancient deity Anahita. The temple is one of the two sites that belong to Anahita. The other one is located at Fars province, Iran. The edifice also displays Persian architectural designs.

Tekyeh Moaven al-molk
It was built by the order of Hossein Khan Moeen al-Roa’aya, who was a successful businessman in Kermanshah bazaar. It was meant to be a Husseiniya (mourning place) when built in 1897.

Tekyeh Moaven al-molk

Tekyeh Biglarbeygi
The main character of this construction is its mirror decoration. The building was made during Qajar Dynasty by Abdullah Khan Biglarbeygi. It has a saloon decorated with inscriptions and design in the time of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar.

Tekyeh Biglarbeygi

Catacombs
Catacombs are underground cemeteries consisting of a subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs, as constructed by the ancient Romans. The Catacombs in Kermanshah date back to the Medes era (700-500 BC). There are three well-known catacombs in Kermanshah:

Essaqwand Rock Tombs
The Essaqwand Rock Tombs contains three tombs that are attributed to different historical eras including Medes, Achaemenids, Seleucids and Parthians. The tombs are located 25 km southwest of Harsin, Kermanshah Province.

Sahneh Catacomb
The local people call it as the tombs of Kaykaus, Farhād Tarāsh, and Shirin&Farhad. It is almost 12 meters above the ground level. 

Dokan-e-Davood Tomb
Dokan-e-Davood is located 3 km southeast of Sarpol Zahab, Kermanshah. It seems that the tombs are holy places and the site has observed religious ceremonies. The followers of Yarsanism consider this tomb to be holy and gather there to perform religious ceremonies. The holiness of this land for them is to the extent that they walk barefoot on the bed of the mountain and present their offerings.