Johnny Simon. Beyond the politics, The beauty of Iran in photos. Mashable. 28 Jan 2016.

1.    The Great Bazaar of Isfahan. Image: Olivier Goujon/Robert Harding/Corbis

2.    The Shah-e Cheragh Sanctuary in Shiraz. Image: Jose Fuste Raga/Corbis

3.    14 Nov 2006, Ardabil, Iran --- Dome Interior at the Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi-ad-din Arbabili --- Image by © Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis Image: Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis

4.    A man weaves silk on a handloom in Yazd. Image: Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis

5.    Alpine touring skiers climbing the Haftanan in the Zagros Mountains. Image: Jean Heintz/Hemis/Corbis

6.    Tilework at Nasir al-Molk Mosque in Shiraz. Image by © Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis Image: Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis

7.    A view of Iran's southern coastline. Image: Frans Lemmens/Corbis

8.    A tea house in Kerman. Image: Bruno MORANDI/Hemis/Corbis

9.    The Friday mosque in Esfahan, Iran. Image: Stephen Alvarez/National Geogographic/Corbis

10.The Great Bazaar of Isfahan. Image: Olivier Goujon/Robert Harding/Corbis

11.Women perform their Friday prayer at the Imam mosque in Isfahan. Image: Ali Hamed Haghdoust/National Geographic Creative/Corbis

12.The Old Kurdish Village Of Palangan. Image: Eric Lafforgue/arabianEye/Corbis

13.The Shah-e Cheragh Sanctuary in Shiraz. Image: Jose Fuste Raga/Corbis

14.The Persepolis ruins near Shiraz. Image: Matthieu Paley/Corbis

15.Women pray during the Eid al-Fitr prayer in Tehran. Image: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

16.A parakeet awaits customers in order to choose a "fortune" outside of the beloved Iranian poet Hafez's tomb in Shiraz. Image: John Moore/Getty

17.An interior of the Golestan Palace in Tehran. Image: Jose Fuste Raga/Corbis

18.The Sultan Mir Ahmad Bathhouse in Kashan. Image: Jose Fuste Raga/Corbis

19.Skiers are reflected in the goggles of another skiier at Dizin Ski Resort north of Tehran. Image: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

20.People walk on the Khajou Bridge in Tehran. Image: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty

21.An Iranian-Armenian choir sings religious songs during a week-end mass at the Saint Stepanos church in the Julfa neighborhood of Isfahan. Julfa neighbourhood is where the biggest Armenian community in Iran resides. Image: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty

22.A tourist takes pictures inside Vank Cathedral in Isfahan. Image: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty

23.A family rides a motorcycle past the Amir Chakhmaq Hosseinieh worship site, one of the largest such structures in Yazd. Image: John Moore/Getty

24.A relief sculpture of a sphinx on a balustrade of the Tripylon in Persepolis. Image: azuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis

25.The Azadi Tower in Tehran. Image: Sergio Pitamitz/robertharding/Corbis

26.The anccient city of Bam. Image: George Steinmetz/Corbis

27.Men in a hookah lounge in Esfahan. Image: Frans Lanting/Corbis

28.A woman walks down the grand stairway of Persepolis. Image: Kazuyoshi Nomachi/Corbis