We arrived in Yazd on the bus at 5am. Exhausted we hit the hay for a few more hours to make the most of the day ahead. Yazd is one of the oldest cities in the world which dates back 3500 years. It has long been referred to as "the Pearl of the Desert" and from a distance it appears to have arisen from the sands like a living part of the desert.
When exploring Yazd I quickly realised it was the bemuda triangle of cities. It feels like a giant version of the Wanaka puzzleworld. The city is a labyrinth of alleyways and passages with huge 5m walls. The walls make navigation impossible, your vision is limited to only the next turn with every corner looking like the last.
Yazd is Iran's most conservative cities which becomes clear when you realise the whole population live behind the walls that line to alleys. You can walk for 10 minutes without hearing a sound or seeing a soul. It is located in the middle of the Dash-e Kavir desert and it has been 40C+ every day. By midday it is unbearable and we frequently retreat back to the shelter of the hotel.
When exploring Yazd I quickly realised it was the bemuda triangle of cities. It feels like a giant version of the Wanaka puzzleworld. The city is a labyrinth of alleyways and passages with huge 5m walls. The walls make navigation impossible, your vision is limited to only the next turn with every corner looking like the last.
Yazd is Iran's most conservative cities which becomes clear when you realise the whole population live behind the walls that line to alleys. You can walk for 10 minutes without hearing a sound or seeing a soul. It is located in the middle of the Dash-e Kavir desert and it has been 40C+ every day. By midday it is unbearable and we frequently retreat back to the shelter of the hotel.
One of the classic photos of the trip. A standard Yazd street, Darth Vader in front, 5 cent flat bread in hand and a smile on the dial
City alleyways are often covered to escape the heat
Yazd is famous for its air conditioning systems. Large ‘badgirs’ litter the horizon, they funnel hot air down to the cool water below and then circulate the cooled air throughout the building. Perhaps the NZ builders could learn a thing or two but it does not look like NZ is in any need of air conditioning at the moment.
A cement table tennis table in a children's playground. Directly above me is a badgir.
Yazd is the center of Zoroastrian religion. The Zoroastrian heritage is preserved in Yazd through the Fire Temple and the Tower of Silence.
The Zoroastrians worship fire and a flame has burning in the ‘temple of fire’ continuously there since 470AD!
The Tower of Silence is where the people left the dead to be eaten by vultures. They believe that if a body is buried it will pollute the earth.
Yazd from Tower of Silence
14/08/2011
We were picked up from the hotel at 6am this morning. The mission: to see deep Iranian desert towns and some Zoroastrian settlements.
We were picked up from the hotel at 6am this morning. The mission: to see deep Iranian desert towns and some Zoroastrian settlements.
We were joined by Julie and Ming from Denmark and China.
First stop was Khanarq, a deserted mudbrick village which dates back 4000 years. We found a minaret to climb. The whole village was crumbling and dangerous but I lost the rock off to see if the minaret was safe for humans. After squeezing through the tight stairs and feeling the whole thing swaying I arrived and said it was safe.
Stunning view from the Minaret
The minaret
The next stop was ‘Chak Chak’ an important Zoroastrian pilgrimage. Chak Chak (‘drip drip’) is famous because of the continuous drip out of the rock face. We visited the Pir-e-Sabz fire temple, home to the drip, which has a fantastic view which was well worth the climb in 40C.
Road to Chak Chak
The caretaker ‘Rashid’ offered us a cup of tea and we listened too his story nodding despite the fact we couldn’t understand a word. The funniest moment of the day was Matt Dodd’s inability to use an iphone camera. Julie wanted a photo taken on her Iphone, Dodd volunteered but continually pressed the home button. Rashid (the caretaker) took over photo taking responsibilities and capably took the photo pressing the right button.

Dodd waiting for a drip...exciting stuff
The last stop was Meybad where we visited a 7000 year old building, one of the oldest in the world. Although it was a little underwhelming it gets extra credit for being so old.
Boring for most but a Pistachio tree was one of my highlights of the day
Tonight we are off to Isfahan which is regarded as one of the great historic, cultural and architectural cities of the world.
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