Tales from the Dark Side: Day 5

Today, I was really running late and had to take my breakfast to-go. I got a few photos of the front of the hotel.

We boarded the bus and went first to Ateshkadeh, a Zoroastrian Fire Temple that houses a fire that has been burning for 1,500 years.

"Zoroastrians come from around the world to see this ateshkadeh, often referred to as the Zoroastrian Fire Temple and said to have been burning since about AD 470. Visible through a window from the entrance hall, the flame was transferred to Ardakan in 1174, then to Yazd in 1474 and to its present site in 1940. Above the entrance you can see the Fravahar symbol."

We waited and learned about Zoroaster, the guy in the portrait, while another group took photos.

Well, some people waited.

It also had a little exhibit about Zoroastrianisn.

Then we went off to the Tower of Silence, where as few as 60 years ago, Zoroastrians took their dead. When we first approached this place, people said it looked other-worldly, and I have to agree. The buildings down here were really the morgue, as I recall. Dead bodies were taken to the tower and left out for the vultures to eat. The bones were swept into a pit and dissolved with acid.

Crazy Generous said that the power lines take away from the ancient feel.

We then climbed up to the lower tower.

What, were you expecting bones? Cuz I did, for a second.

Click the image on the left to see the view from that hole.

Each photo links to a video taken on up here.

On the way down, I took some excursions through buildings.

Each photo links to a video taken on my excursions.

The current Zoroastrian cemetery.

On the way out, I bought a book on the religion of Zarathustra to add to my religious texts collection. The guy selling it said the religion was very kind, if I recall correctly. We then went to downtown Yazd to see the Jāmeh Mosque, which boasts the tallest minarets in the country. But first, here are a few other sights from along the way.

Angry Birds, the only carpet I saw that I would have considered buying, and motorcycles outside the mosque.

The Friday Mosque, as the guide said.

The doors on the right side of the left photo are allegedly to a synagogue. The right photo has a sign to where we had lunch.

Each image above links to a different video from inside the mosque.

The first doorway into a courtyard.

From inside the dome.

The teenagers in the outer photos were actually texting, though I did see the one on the right praying (bowing forward) a couple times.

Then we went to the Silk Road Hotel for lunch, where they were serving camel stew. It was a pretty cool place, and if the restrictions on Americans are ever eased, I would like to stay here.

Another item reminiscent of the arts from the Andes.

Just an average street scene.

Then, we went to the Old Town, which was a splendid maze of adobe passages.

Doorways are lower than street level because the dwellings inside are lower. This helps them stay cooler in the desert heat. Yazd is the dryest city in Iran. There are also two knockers on the door, one for women, and one for men. In an area with a high degree of strangers traveling through, historically, I guess inhabitants wanted to know a little more about the person knocking at their door. Still, they need to trust that the person on the outside is being honest.

One of the members of our group had cookies to give out, and they were quite tasty. We passed a "Tourist Free Library", which was actually a free library for tourists, and not a library free of tourists. We decided to go back later for tea, but we later learned that they did not yet have the tea part of the shop set up.

I took a close-up of the wall to show the straw in the adobe. We were getting closer to our first destination, a historic house open for tourism.

We went into a house that is open for viewing and witnessed the effects of the windcatchers, which are the tall things sticking up from the buildings. They catch the wind in the air and, with sticks and angled brick, it is transferred below, to provide cool breeze to the inhabitants.

I believe this is the House of Larry, or Lariha House.

Under the windcatchers.

After this, we walked back the way we came to go to a store we saw before. One group went off to the Tourist Free Library for tea, and I would follow them shortly after because I wanted to see the shop, but likely wouldn't stay. Once I had looked over the shop, I started on my way back.


I took a brief wrong turn, then corrected my mistake and found the group about to leave because this place didn't yet serve tea. We went to another place that also sold local art for tea and biscuits. But first, we went up to the roof.

Click the photo for a video from the top of the roof.

Then we went down to tea and I just had two bottles of water and cookies. Later. I bought a piece of artwork that was made by the woman was running the shop at that time.

We had tea and cookies under the domes that we were not supposed to walk on.

We then walked out of Old Town, past the mosque, past an entryway to a water tunnel to the Water Museum.

The candy store we went to later is on the corner on the left in this photo.

The Water Museum showed us how Yazd got their water from the mountains prior to modern pipes and plumbing.

I love miniature versions of things. This is the replica of Yazd.

We went down into the place where the water came into the house. And when you go down in Iran, you need to come back up the usually steep, uneven stairs.

After this, some wanted to go to the Bazaar, but I wanted to go back to the hotel, so I went with a group to the bus. But we were at a famous candy shop, and I wanted to go in. The system inside was crazy: write your order, give it to one guy, he gives you another paper that you take to the cashier. Pay the cashier and get a receipt, then take that back to the counter to get your candy. It is the Soviet System, apparently. Thanks to a very nice young Iranian man, I was able to navigate the system and get my baklava, but it was a little embarrassing.

Back at the hotel, I went up to the rooftop to relax and went online. A little later, I learned that I had maxed out the WiFi for my room, and had to buy more gigs. I packed for at least an hour, lamenting my overtaking. But eventually, my roommate arrived back from dinner (which I skipped), and we went to bed. Our bags had to be out by 8:30 and we were leaving for Istfahan at 9.

Yazd is a pretty great town.