Yazd
Yazd, also locally called Yezd is the capital of Yazd province and about 270 km in southeast of Isfahan. Yazd, with its sun-dried adobe buildings, is known as the bride of the central desert. It is the only alive adobe city in the world and one of the ancient earthen cities of Iran destinations which remained intact in terms of Iranian traditional and technical architecture.
Qanats, wind-catchers, traditional houses, bathhouses, bazars, mosques, Zoroastrian fire temples and synagogues are living testimonies of earthen architecture. Yazd was inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2017.
Marco Polo the famous Italian merchant and explorer called it the “noble city of Yazd”. In your travel to Iran, it is a must to visit Yazd as a shining jewel in the middle of desert and experience a real cultural tour as well as adventure tour. Yazd is a cultural destination along Iran classic route. It is ideal for travelers who wish to know more about lifestyle of the ancient Persian residents.
History of Yazd
According to historic records, Yazd is an important site of Iran destinations dating to 3000 years BC when it was called “Ysatis” and was part of Medes’ territory; who were the ancient settler of Iran plateau. Yazd survived the major wars intact due to its far distance from important and main cities and also locating in the desert. So many of its historic earthen architecture and culture have been kept from destruction till now. One of the most important characteristics of Yazd is to escape from modernization and because of that the historical context of this earthen city remained intact. The historical architecture of Yazd has two significant and unique features: first, Qanat is an intelligent system to use of limited underground water in desert area; second, wind-catchers and thick earthen walls which create a pleasant wind circulation and microclimate. Yazd has been famous for manufacturing silk textiles and still is a major center for silk weaving and spinning.
Topography
Yazd is one of the ancient cities situated in the middle of Iran plateau, close to ancient routes like Iran Silk Road and Spice Road and in the desert area. Yazd lays on an arid plain about 1200m above sea level. Yazd has many natural landforms like mountains, hills, fields and plains, deserts and salty lands for being close to mountains in south and to desert in north. Yazd is a special destination because of its location for adventurers who like to experience trekking in central desert.
Yazd Climate
Yazd is so dry, arid and hot because of being located on the world desert belt and far from Persian Gulf and free waters of Oman. These factors cause less moisture and excess of evaporation over precipitation. On the contrary it is so cold and wet during winter.z
Attractions of Yazd
The ancient city of Yazd is furnished with mosques of stunning beauty which co-exist with Zoroastrian holy sites. Yazd has many important highlights such as Tower of Silence and the Zoroastrian Fire Temple which are very unique sites in Iran and give you the chance to know more about Zoroastrians. Amir Chakhmaq Complex is the symbol of Yazd. Qanat, the sloping underground water channel, historic garden of Dolat Abad and the wind catchers are the most amazing attractions in Yazd.
Jame Mosque of Yazd is the congregational mosque of 12th century which was constructed in the site of Sassanid fire temple during Al-e Bouyeh dynasty. Later on 14th century (between 1324-1365) it was rebuilt by order of “Seyyed Rokn Al-Din Mohammad Qazi” which is a masterpiece of Persian architecture. Jame Mosque of Yazd consists of an entrance, a pair of Minarets, a long arcaded courtyard, a tall Mihrab, an iwan and a chamber. The entrance and the minarets have been decorated with Persian artistic tiles from bottom to the top. The chamber which is under the tiled dome has been decorated with tile mosaic and the tall Mihrab exquisitely tiled and is one of the finest in its kind.
Zoroastrian Tower of Silence locally known as Dakhma is a circular structure built by Zoroastrian to expose the corpses to carrion birds specifically vultures. According to Zoroastrian religion, this is for avoiding of contact with fire or earth as both are sacred, as they believe the body after death can be contaminated by demons. So they purify the corpses by exposing them to the elements on top of the Dakhma. This tradition dates back to 3000 years when the corpses were arranged in three circles. Men were in outer circle, women were in the middle and children in the inner circle. The dead bodies left until their bones were stripped by the carrion birds and then they were buried.
Zoroastrian fire temple of Yazd also known as Yazd Bahram Atashkadeh is the most important temple of Iran destinations which enshrines the sacred fire which is burning for 1550 years from 470AD Sassanian Empire. The sacred fire is called “Atash Bahram” meaning “victorious fire” Yazd temple is one of the world’s nine Zoroastrian fire temples that holds the live sacred fire. The building of fire temple was constructed in the style of Achaemenid architecture in 1934. The fire is preserved within a bronze vessel behind the glass wall. There is a guard named “Hirob” who feeds the flame wood to be alive.
Persian Qanat locally called Kariz is an intelligent system for conducting the underground water along horizontal tunnels by means of gravity to the surface for irrigating and drinking in desert areas and arid lands during the ancient times. The length of tunnels maybe for many kilometers underground. As Iran is on the desert belt, so there are lots of qanats in Iran.
Wind catcher is a traditional architectural tower to act as a ventilation system in the buildings. There is various type of wind catchers in design. Wind catcher is truly a Persian engineering architectural method which used for many centuries to catch the cool breeze and conduct it inside the building. There are many outstanding wind catchers in Yazd which represent us the adaptation of ancient civilizations to their region’s climate.