Customs of Yazd
The five thousand year old city of Yazd located in the center of Iran is one of the greatest adobe cities of the world. It is one of the driest cities of Iran with the minimum amount of rain or snow falling; however, the dry climate of Yazd has been a blessing for it to get flourished in art and architecture. Recently,Yazd has been inscribed on UNESCO’sworld Heritage List as a priceless adobe city embracing many per-Islamicand Islamic attractions. Yazd, the city of wind catchers is also well-known as the jewel of desert. It is a “do not miss destination “for tourists who travel to Iran.
Yazd is located between the largest deserts of Iran: Dasht-e-Kavir and Dasht-e-Lut.Therefore, its location in the arid area has protected it against many attacks devastating other cities of Iran. Moreover, people of Yazd adapted them selves to the climatic condition of Yazd and applied their knowledge for makingit a good place to live rather than abandoning the city. They made their homes out of adobe clay which reflected the sunlight and received less sun heat. The architecturally unique city of Yazd has maintained its old context and today it is really pleasant to stroll through the labyrinth-like alleys of Yazd and to get lost in the narrow lines full of stories of ancient times.
Literally,Yazd means holy and sacred. The city of Yazd has taken its name from Sassani druler “Yazdgerd the 1st”. During Sassanid dynasty, Zoroastrianism was the dominant creed of Yazd people. Today, there are some Zoroastrian attractions in Yazd such as Zoroastrian fire temple (Atashkadeh) that is believed to have a fire burning since 470 AD, and towers of silence (Zoroastrian’s Dakhmeh). Towers of silence are located out of the city of Yazd and they are not in use today; however,once these two circular structures on the top of two adjacent hills were places to leave the dead bodies for scavenger birds to pick at.
