Yazd is undeniably one of the highlight
of every trip to Iran. Sandwiched between two desert – Dasht-e Kavir and
Dasht-e Lust, it is a charming old city with well preserved mudbrick wall,
labyrinthine alleys and historical sites in every corner. Once an important station in the ancient Silk Road,
and notable as the birthplace of Zoroastrianism, Yazd is place where centuries-old
traditions remain contemporary.
Here is a list of the top things to do
and see whilst in this enchanting city :
Wandering the old
city
Being located beside the central
mountains, far from the sea, adjacent to the desert, every inch of Yazd is a
desert city and it is certainly one of the driest part of Iran. Living in such
environment brings hard consequences for the inhabitants, with temperature
extreme change during day and night, not to mention sand storms that can hit
the town at anytime. For this, the city dwellers constructed house complexes
with thick, earthen walls made of mudbrick that provide insulation. The inner
passageways, called koochech was
built a few meters high above the ground, sometimes roofed at intervals to
provide daytime shading. To walk this alleyways is a pleasure itself. It’s the
right place to wander and get lost. The city is also famous for its windtower
or windcatcher (Persian : bâdgir).
It’s is a high structure on the rooftop serving as special ventilation
structure.
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| A koochech and a badgir all in one scene |
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| Watching the sunset from the rooftop |
Pay a visit to
Dakhmeh
Yazd was and still remains a center of
Zoroastrianism in Iran. A religion that dating back to second millennium BCE,
and Dakhmeh or Tower of Silence is an important part of burial rituals for the
religion. Here the body of dead people cleansed and lied atop the mountain, and
let it be picked clean by birds of prey, a practice that lasted thousand years
until 1970, when it was otherwise prohibited by law. Modern day Iranian Zoroastrian
who wish to be treated as so, must go to India, where the last standing Tower
of Silence still operating in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
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| The Tower of Silence in Yazd. It took half an hour to climb to the top and back |
Eating Yazdi
sweet
As Yazd is well known for its fire
temple and windcatchers, it is also famous for its confectionery. There are more
than a dozen varieties to choose from baklava, halva, toffee to nougat, to
cake. Each with its own name and distinctive use of spices and flavours. To
name a few, loze nargil -diamond
shaped Persian sweets from pistachios and rose water-, sohan –a Persian saffron brittle toffee that is sweet and crunchy-
, qottab –almond filled fried pastry
covered in powdered sugar- and naan
berenji –a Persian rice cookies- are among the very popular. And there is
one specific confectionery shop near the Amir Chakhmakh Complex called Haj
Khalifeh Ali Rakhbar which is very famous among the sweets lover, for having
over three generations making the finest sweets in town.
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| The stack of sweets with sohan in the front right |
Enjoying the breeze at Bagh-e
Dowlatabad
A typical Persian garden, this garden is
the embodiment of earthy paradise, which purpose is to provide a protected
relaxation, a philosophy and design that had been adapted in many other gardens
in the world including the Alhambra and Taj Mahal. Dowlatabad garden - along
with eight other gardens across Iran is enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.
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| The 33-meters-high windtower of Bagh-e Dowlatabad, the highest in Iran |
literally translated to ‘house of
strenght’, it is a gymnasium in which traditional Iranian sport is practiced.
Originally used to train warriors based on pre-islamic Persian culture (mostly of
Zoroastrianism and Gnosticism), the training sessions combining martial arts
and strength training with music. The Morshed (the singer) is the one who leads
the athletes and dictates the pace by beating a drum (zarb) while
reciting Gnostic poems and stories from Persian mythology.
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| About to begin a training session |
Visiting
Kharanaq
Lies 70 kilometres North of Yazd,
Kharanaq is a deserted mudbrick village said to be dated around 4000 years ago.
Strolling down its labyrinth of streets, tunnels, passageways, and rooms will makes
you wonder how anyone lived out there thousand years before.
But crumbling village is not the only
thing Kharanaq has to offer, it also has a few of historical sites mostly dated
back to the Qajar era. One is the Shaking Minaret of Kharanaq. A mosque with
15-meters-high minaret with three storeys and a winding staircase within. It’s
often seen shaking to unknown reason, hence the name.
Another site is the caravanserai
in the edge of the village, a guesthouse designed to welcome travelling
merchants and their caravans as they made their way along the trade routes.
This establishment played an important role in the ancient time, when Iran was
part of the Silk Road which was, until 1500, the main trade route between
Europe and Asia.
There is also an ancient aquaduct with a
still functioning bridge of Kharanaq. With the old village in the background,
it is a beautiful yet sentimental view to behold.
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| This out of the world view is Kharanaq old village, with the shaking minaret seen on the left |
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