Iran: Yadz

Today was a jam-packed day. We started by visiting the Towers of Silence, which was where the Zoroastrians used to lay their dead on stone so that the birds could eat then and then throw their bones into a pit in the middle of the tower. Kind of gruesome, but it's what they did for thousands of years. We climbed up to the top of one and had a great birds-eye view of the city.

Our next stop was a local henna factory where they still grind the henna with a huge stone wheel. We also saw the workers packaging the henna into bags. We then walked next door to visit the wholesale spice vendor, which was jam-packed with customers.

Our next stop was to the fire temple of the Zoroastrians. Yadz is the primary center of Zoroastrianism in Iran, and they believe that fire purifies, and have had this particular fire burning for over 1500 years, although not in this particular temple (the fire was elsewhere and they moved it to here like 80 years ago).

Our next stop was to a local confectionary where we purchased some local cookies to go along with our lunch. Across the street was our next destination: the water museum, which shows how the people of Yadz have been getting their water for centuries. They have a complex set of underground canals which really are quite impressive. After the museum, we walked through a local bazaar which sold mostly gold jewelry.

We then drove to the outskirts of town to a local restaurant where we tried some of the local favorites. I found the chicken stewed in pomegranate and walnut paste particularly delicious!

After lunch (and having our fill of the yummy cookies we had picked up earlier), we visited the Mir Chaqmaq, which has a very distinct facade with several curved niches along three levels with two tall minarets behind it.

Our next visit was to the Kabir Jaamé Mosque, or Great Friday Mosque. It's known for its tall minarets (the two tallest in Iran) and for its deep turquoise tile work. We continued our walk by visiting the madrasah and mausoleum of Imam Rukna-ad-Din. We walked all through the small alleys with adobe walls of old town and came to Alexander's Prison. Alexander the Great founded this town on his campaign in the 4th century BCE and the town has been thriving ever since!

We then spent a good portion of town wandering around artisan workshops and shopping, before we eventually drove to our last stop of the day, the Bagh-i-Dawlatabad, which was a unique private octagonal house with the tallest wind tower in the city. One of the earliest forms of air conditioning, wind towers were tall structures with vents in each side which catches the wind and blows it down into the houses. Yadz is known for these tall structures, but this house had the tallest one. It was neat that it still works after all these years (I stood underneath the opening of the chimney in the house and could feel a nice, cool breeze flow through)! The house also had a lovely garden that we strolled through. The sun was just setting, so it was a nice time to visit.

After that we returned to the hotel for dinner and then sleep! We are up early tomorrow for our drive to what has been promised to be the highlight of our trip and the jewel of Iran, Esfahan. Can't wait!!!!!