Isfahan is famous for its Perso–Islamic architecture, grand boulevards, covered bridges, palaces, tiled mosques, and minarets. Isfahan also has many historical buildings, monuments, paintings and artifacts.

Isfahan -- Half the World The Safavid period (1502 1736) was particularly decisive for shaping the city, whose beauty was so great that world travelers purportedly dubbed it "Half the World," which, according to the proud 17th-century historian Iskandar Munshi, was because "they only describe half of Isfahan."

The city's golden age began in 1598 when the Safavid ruler Abbas I of Persia (reigned 1588–1629) made it his capital and rebuilt it into one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the 17th-century world. In 1598, Abbas I moved his capital from Qazvin to the more central Isfahan.

Most accounts of its beauty refer to the Safavid period: Isfahan was the storied capital of Iran from 1598 to 1722 CE, inspiring the famous adage "Isfahan nisf-i-jahan" (Isfahan is half the world), but the city's history stretches back more than 2500 years.