Persian Architecture, Iran

Persian architects were a highly sought after stock in the old days, before the advent of Modern Architecture. For example, Ostad Isa Shirazi is most often credited as the chief architect (or plan drawer) of Taj Mahal. These artisans were also highly instrumental in the designs of such edifices as Afghanistan's Minaret of Jam, The Sultaniyeh Dome, or Tamerlane's tomb in Samarkand, among many others.
UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites
Ziggurats such as the UNESCO designated World Heritage Site of Chogha Zanbil, which relieved the flat monotony of the southern Khuzestan plane, were but "ritual imitations of the familiar sacred mountains which ring the Iranian plateau".