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Yazd Province
Neighboring the provinces of Kerman and Fars to the south and
south-west, Isfahan to the north and west and Khorassan to the
north-east, this province is located in the center of Iranian plateau
on the borders of the central desert.
Marco Polo the first traveler who visited Yazd in 1272 AD described it
as a prosperous city with intelligent, industrious and talented
people.
This province is amongst the arid and comparatively dry areas of Iran.
Faced with a chronic shortage of water, the inhabitants of this
province developed an elaborate system of Qanats or underground
conduits, some of which are as much as 45 Km long.
In spite of shortage of water, the province is famous for its
agricultural products such as pomegranates and pistachios.
Additionally, this province also occupies a vital status in the
industrial structure of Iran and has become an important industrial
axis producing varied industrial products such as textiles, silk,
carpets, blankets, ceramics and tiles, and rubber products such as
tires and tubes etc.
Yazd city
Yazd is one of the oldest and most typical desert cities in Iran.
Some of Islamic historian attribute its construction to Alexander the
Great who built a prison there for great men and at the beginning of
the Islamic era Yazd was known as the Alexander's prison.
The architecture of Yazd is unique, combining a proliferation of those
graceful Bad-Girs (wind-towers) seen in the central and southern Iran:
the houses are surmounted by high turrets with opening oriented
towards the dominant winds; these insure the ventilation of the lower
parts of the house rather like air-vent on a ship.
Enormous domes starting at ground level and also surmounted by air
vents act as protective roofs for deep water tanks either six or ten
meters below the street level, which were reached by stair cases .
Yazdis of the present day retain their sterling qualities of old. They
are strongly religious, whether their faith be Islam or the "good
religion" of ancient Iran.
Amir Chakhmaq Mosque: Built in 14th century AD this mosque is famous
for its superb portal ornamented with stucco. Actually, this
represents one of the buildings of a historic complex incorporating a
mosque, a public bath, a caravansary, a mausoleum, water reservoir and
an imposing entrance to one of the bazaars of Yazd.
 Joma Mosque: The construction of this mosque, built on a site of a Sassanian fire temple, was begun in 1324 and continuously developed
over a period of 40 years. No other mosque in Iran has more impressive
gateway than this soaring 14th. century edifice. Crowned by a pair of
minarets, the highest in Iran, the portal's façade is decorated from
top to bottom in dazzling tile work, predominantly blue in color. The
tile work has recent been skillfully restored and a modern library
built to house the mosque's valuable collection of books and
manuscripts.
Bazaar: Yazd has twelve historic bazaars. The most important ones are
: Goldsmith bazaar and Panjeh Ali bazaar. Yazd is famous for its
sweets, especially Pashmak, Baghlava and Ghottab.
Atashkadeh: This is the most important Zoroastrian temple. Here is a
sacred flame behind a glass visible from the small museum inside has
been burning since about 470 AD and was transferred from its original
site in 1940. A couple of paintings can also be found here, including
one of Zoroaster. The temple is open to public from 08:00 – 12:00 and
14:30 to 16:30 except holidays. Yazd with its villages is the most
important gathering center for Zoroastrians who are living in this
area from ancient time. There is a sacred place called
Pir-e-Sabz-e-Check Check at 72 Km of this city, where some Zoroastrian
from different part of world gather for religious ceremonies every
summer. |
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