Cascading off the verdant lower slopes of the great Alvand Mountain, Hamadan might just be the oldest continuously established city on the planet. Ancient historians tell of the time it was an outpost of the Assyrian kings, while Herodotus of Halicarnassus reveals it was the old capital of the Median Empire. There are plenty of clues to this long, long past peppering the sun-scorched valleys around town, like the Persian inscription left by Xerxes I, the remains of ancient Ekbatana City, and the weathered effigy of the Stone Lion – once thought to have crowned the formidable city gates. More modern constructions dominate the downtown today, with Hamadan tour guides highlighting the straight lines of the Avicenna Mausoleum, a tribute to one of the greatest Muslim scientists. Then come the cool and breezy hinterlands of the greater Hamadan Province, panning out into snow-topped peaks and green meadows, all more than 1,800 meters above sea level.