Yazd city dates from the 5th century CE and was described as the “noble city of Yazd” by Marco Polo. It stands on a mostly barren sand-ridden plain about 4,000 feet (1,200 metres) above sea level.
It is almost impossible to think up an itinerary for traveling to Iran and not include Yazd. This historic city, with its preserved earthen architecture, mud-brick houses, astonishing ancient monuments and the amazing cooling system -which is done through the wind catchers (also known as Badgir) – is considered to be a ‘must-see’ destination among domestic and foreign travelers in Iran.
Dad Hotel, even the hallways are exquisitely decorated.
As we boarded Bus Number 2
Street view of Yazd
A UNESCO entry for Yazd is a good introduction to all we saw there. .https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1544/
Arrival at the Tower of Silence, I didn't know what to expect but it was beyond my wildest imagination.
A glimpse of the Tower of Silence.
Entrance to the well.
Dwellings meant to house people accompanying funerals.
In the Zoroastrian tradition, once someone has died, their body can immediately be contaminated by demons and made impure. To prevent this infiltration, Zoroastrians purified the dead body by exposing it to the elements and local fowl on top of flat-topped towers called dakhmas in the desert.
A view from the top after Murtaza and I raced up the steps.
Zoroastrians believe that earth, fire and water are all holy elements, and thus do not pollute them by burying, burning or giving their dead to the water. Instead, they place their dead bodies on in a tower of silence, letting vultures to consume the corpses. In the middle of the tower exists a pit known as Ostudan (Persian: استودان) where the remaining bones are placed after they are stripped of meat.This practice, however, has been banned in Iran since 1966-1967, and ever since no body has been placed in this tower of silence.
The entry to the dakhma, or as we found out, the only EXIT. If you look closely, the door is bolted shut, with us inside, by a friend who's name need not be mentioned.
Celebrating the company of friends life brings, and the cool shade.
Rehydration by icy cool watermelon. Thank you.
On the way to more cultural education about the Zoroastrians.
Although Islam gradually became the dominant religion of the city, there are still fire temples and other monuments related to Zoroastrians
Located within a garden with a pool. near the city centre. is one of remaining Zoroastrian temples, a relic of the original Persian religion.
The faravahar was depicted on the tombs of Achaemenid kings, such as Darius the Great (r. 522–486 BC) and Artaxerxes III (r. 358–338 BC)From the start of the 20th century, the faravahar icon found itself in public places and became a known icon among Iranians.
The sacred fire of the temple is said to have been burning since 470 AD in the Sassanian Empire. It was originally started in the Pars Karyan fire temple in Larestan County, Fars Province, but it was later transferred to several other temples and secret locations to keep it burning until it was finally consecrated in the Yazd temple in 1934.
Artefacts are on display
Zoroastrians are required to perform special rituals to enter the temple. Apart from personal cleanliness, the pilgrims have to remove their shoes. Men have to wear white caps and women need to put on white scarves and light color clothes.
Farooq really meant L for Love but by now he was used to thinking in Persian, left to right
The author with his roommate
Pedro helped me mimic the Fravahar, I need a bigger wingspan, other than that we did OK.
Since Sāsānian times Yazd has been famous for beautiful silk textiles that were rivaled in later periods only by those of Kāshān and Eṣfahān. The city is still a major centre of silk weaving. It has spinning and weaving mills, a plant for the manufacture of water purification and filtration equipment, and considerable mining and quarrying activity; copper deposits nearby are processed at the Sar Cheshmeh facilities. Almonds, fruit, and some grain are grown near the city.
A promise of lunch and we didn't mind marching through the most wonderful ancient district of Yazd, with walls and roofs made from mud. bricks.
We reached an unassuming doorway with a sign saying Emarat Aghigh, Cultural Restaurant. Little did we know what a wonder we were entering, a land of Alladin and his Genie.
High ceilinged, large rooms with adjoining smaller rooms for cozier parties, two levels of seating and places to sit back and stretch our legs while we enjoy lunch.
Delicious traditional Persian food of Yazd distric
Seriously, does this dessert look like its made from lamb? I don't bellieve it.
Pedro, Nilofer and Sikander, enjoying a well deserved lunch and rest after ferrying us all over town. Thanks, guys.
This Circa 13th Century building is the only one in Yazd with 4 iwans, although the eastern iwan no longer exists. It was altered in both the Timurid and Qajar periods. Much of the interior has been restored, but some is still in need of restoration.
This 15th-century domed school is known as Alexander’s Prison because of a reference to this apparently dastardly place in a Hafez poem.
A surprisingly high dome, Murtaza told us a lot more, but poor student that I am, I don't remember. I'll ask him on our next visit.
A tablet with beautiful calligraphy.
Another fine windcatcher and we are about to disvoer the principle of cooling in the desert.
How the windcatcher cools a room with no moving parts.
We descended to the chamber kept cool by the windcatcher system. Pretty steep stairway, a good way to keep up the muscle tone in the whole body.
The cooled chamber was at least 10 degrees cooler than outdoors.
Salinity deposits on the walls of the chamber near the outlet for the moist air.
The air channel.
Outside the Zia'leh School is a fine ceramics and textile store, intricate and delicate work, as proven by the sign at the top!
I've never seen ceramic tiles this intricate and beautiful. Great talent.
Large buildings, with architectural details, all made with mud brick and adobe on the surface.
Domed alleyways are a characterictic of the old town in Yazd
Sometimes theres no room for pedestrians.
We ascended to the famous rooftops for a view of Yazd old town.
The adobe roofs visible from the Art House
Amazing rooftop views of Yazd, worthy of photos and selfies, haha. Thanks for the photo, Zahid.
The Wind Catchers of Yazd.Environmentally-conscious buildings have been around much longer than the modern environmental crisis. Outdating gas-guzzling air conditiioning units by generations, bagdirs – or windcatchers – have been cooling down the people of Yazd, Iran, since before the 19th century. These towers spike the skyline of the Iranian desert city like antiquated skyscrapers.
Another way to cool down a room is to vent the rising warm air up into a dome and out which pulls in cool air from below.
This house is part of MalekZadeh mansions dating back to Qajar
Nice day for a white wedding. I think that's a song :-)
The best pomegranate juice ever.
The Art House is managed by a couple who are both artists and the staff are art students as well.
Cheers to Yazd.
Bus Number 2 strikes again.A truly magical place at sundown, very eclectic, very dreamy and enchanting
Cups for pomegranate juice, probably from the pottery art class, artfully decorating the rooftops.
A very artfully decorated archway, fit for a fancy event.
Jameh Mosque of YazdThe 14th-century mosque is still in use today. It was first built under Ala'oddoleh Garshasb of the Al-e Bouyeh dynasty. The mosque was largely rebuilt between 1324 and 1365, and is one of the outstanding 14th century buildings of Iran.
One of the greatest features of the mansion is the square shape of the mosque which makes it look like Kaaba. Kaaba is a prominent symbol in Islamic Architecture.
One of the best examples of inlaid ceramic decoration in the traditional Persian colour.
The Thuluth script is marked by its clear structure and readability, which make it suitable for a number of purposes, even today. The cursive letters and long lines make it easily readable and usable for both titles and long texts.Therefore, it was used in the Holy Qur’an and in architectural decorations in many regions of the Islamic Empire.
The arch at the place for the imam of the prayer.
No set of photos would be complete without our dear friend in it.
The entryway arch of the mosque is decorated with the hundred names of Allah.Worth reading: Here's a link to a wonderful document about calligraphy, with pictures, is at bit.ly/arcalli
The blue hour for photography, perfectly timed with the Jameh Mosque. The minars are the tallest in Iran, a testament to the engineers and builders back in the 14th century.
it is a great example of the Azari style of Persian architecture. The entrance to the mosque is crowned by a pair of minarets, the highest in Iran, dating back to the Safavid era and measuring 52 meters in height and 6 meters in diameter.
Ane the crescent moon highlighting the beauty of Yazd.
In the market outside the Jameh Mosque. The radio was proudly dispalyed front and center, AM and many SW bands, so nostalgic! We enjoyed unfolding puzzle sitting stools, not easy..
An alleyway with beautiful stores, wonderful handicrafts and locally manufactured textiles and jewelry.
Shahid Beheshti Square, on our way back to dinner.
Imarat Vakil, another fantastic resturant, we got a tast of Rumi, the leader of our tour guides is educated with Persian poetry specially Rumi.
Fantastic decor, even more tasteful than the last restaurant. Every restaurant was like we were special guests at a dinner in a museum.
Persian favorite: eggplant.
Leg of lamb, cooked in Yazd, the meat fell off the bones, original and unique flavors.
Sabzi PoloThe rice itself is highly fragrant, scented with dill, mint and whatever other soft herbs you can get, along with heady saffron.
OMG the chicken!I can't give enough compliments to the chefs and restaurant management for treating us to local Yazd cuisine, and the same for the tour company for picking great restaurants all along the way. Kudos.
I am defeated. Help, Farooq only you can figure this out.The closesst I got with Azra's interpretation was آنکه بی باده کند جان مرامست کجاستWhere is the soul who takes my breath away.
Great new friends, Bus Number 2 building bridges with Bus Number 4.
Coffee art, as good as it gets, Dad Hotel Coffee Shop.
Last night in Yazd, there should be a sad song with that name.
Flying out of Yazd, onward to Shiraz.
Sepheran Air
See you soon, Yazd, we'll miss you!
