Yazd is in central Iran. At one time, Yazd was an important station on the Silk Road, with historic mosques, minarets and ancient clay buildings. Marco Polo described Yazd as “a good and noble city with a great amount of trade.” The deserts have kept  Yadz isolated from invading armies, so we are very lucky that most of it’s ancient buildings have been preserved.

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It’s Old Town is built entirely out of adobe and is a maze of endless alleys and very narrow streets. It all looked very brown, but it was very clean.

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Beautiful to see after dusk and through out the evening. Our guide’s home was Yadz and he showed us the Yazd that he loves.

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Yazd is known for being the center of Zoroastrin religion. They believe there is one universal god. In Zoroastrianism water and fire are agents of ritual purity. Both fire and water are considered life sustaining and are represented at the “Fire Temple”.

Zoroastrians usually pray in the presence of some form of fire (any source of light).  Fire is considered the medium through which insight and wisdom is gained. Water is considered the source of that wisdom. This eternal flame – Ataskadeh, is in a brazen pot and behind a wall of glass. It has been burning since 470 B.C.

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The Symbolic Birdman above the “Fire Temple” is the winged symbol of Zoroaster and named Farahr meaning “guardian angel”. His wings have three rows of feathers representing “Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds”, the basis of Zoroastrian ethics.

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The tradition of the Zoroastrians was to leave the bodies of their dead exposed to sun and birds of prey on this hill. They believed this would protect the soil from being polluted by burial of the dead, and the air to be protected from burning the bodies, The “Towers of Silence” are outside the city limits. There are two hills with circular walls built around the tops.

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Best Sweets in Yazd – “Haj Khalifeh Ali Rahbar Partners” is located at the corner of the main square. Baghlava, ghotals, pashmak. Confectioneries have a long history in Yazd. Sweets are various and divine, with hidden flavors of rose-water, pistachio and almonds.

This store, Haj Khalifeh Ali Rahbar Partners, was wall to wall customers! You had to get a number to be served!

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Most people in our tour left with packages to bring home to friends and relatives. Our guide bought enough cookies for the bus to last us for days and days…..