TABRIZ The first major Iranian city that overland travelers coming from Turkey.

It was the Mongol capital in the 13th century, and again under the Black sheep Dynasty who ruled from Tabriz in the 15th century.

Jahan-Shah(1436-67 A.D.) was an active ruler who enlargened and beautified Tabriz, building the Blue Mosque in 1465. Ravaged by centuries of invasions and severe earthquakes, only fragments of the original tile work survived. Hinting at the glory that was. The Blue Mosque is one of the few completely covered mosques in Iran and has exquisite polychrome ornamentation. The flavor of old Tabriz is preserved in the covered bazaar where jewelry and carpets, among the finest in Iran, are found. Another site to be visited is the Shah-Goli Pavilion built in the middle of an artificial lake.

Tabriz boasts at least two museums, the archaeological and the anthropological , both displaying artifacts produced during the long course of human habitation in Azarbaijan.

TAKHT-E-SOLEIMAN from the time of the Mage who nurtured the sacred fire of Azar gushnasp besides the bottomless lake Gushnasp besides the bottomless lake of deepest blue until today, Takht-e-Soleiman (The Throne of Solomon)has remained for all who see it a sacred place- The ruins of Takht-e-Soleiman lie in a broad and remote mountain valley southeast of Maraghe. The massive stone wall and remnants of thirty eight towers built around the lake by the Sassanids in the 3rd century A.D.is all that is left of the complex. The crater of zendan-e-Soleiman(The Prison of Solomon) can be glimpsed in the distance . 

MAKU The church of saint Thaddeus, also known as Qara kilisa or Black church, is located thirteen miles south of Maku. It is one of the oldest churches in Christian Dom, and holds a special meaning for Iran's Armenian minority who gather there every year in July for the feast of Saint Thaddeus, the early Christian apostle who was martyred there. The original building is constructed of black and white stone and dates to about 10th century A.D. 

SUlLTANIEH Sultan Mohammad Khodabandeh (Olgaitu), a 14th century 11 Khainid ruler of Persia, moved his capital from Tabriz to the spacious plain of sultanieh, 25 miles southeast of Zanjan, now a separate province southeast of Azarbaijan, erecting there a new city from 1305 to 1313 A.D. The magnificent palaces, mosques and public building that so astounded foreign ambassadors to the Mongol court are gone, but the tomb of Oljaitu, one of the finest achievements of Persian architecture still stands, among the poppies that cover the plain and desert hills with a carpet of red flowers in spring. The tomb was richly embellished by the best craftsmen but Oljaitu feeling it was not suitable for a secular ruler had the decorations covered with plaster which is now being skillfully removed .