The Lut Desert, widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut, is a salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan-Baluchestan, Iran. The name is derived from 'Lut' which means bare and empty in Persian and 'dasht' which means plain in Persian. The surface of its sand has been measured at temperatures as high as 70.7 °C (159.3 °F), making it one of the world's driest and hottest places.
Iran, officially known as the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country located in Western Asia. Iran has a long and rich history that spans several millennia. It was once the center of the Persian Empire, one of the most powerful and influential empires in ancient times. Iran covers an area of 1.64 million square kilometres (0.63 million square miles) with an estimated population of 86.8 million in 2022.
Pasargadae was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), who ordered its construction. Today it is an archaeological site located just north of the town of Madar-e-Soleyman and about 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the northeast of the modern city of Shiraz. A limestone tomb there is believed to be that of Cyrus the Great.
