About Yazd Province
Yazd province with the centrality of Yazd city is located approximately at the eastern center of the country and the outskirts of the desert. This province has ancient history and has always had a special position gaining the interests of many a government; but luckily, it has not been invaded much and has guarded its cultural and historical purity. Due to being situated at arid, desert region, has not been that interesting for the invaders and its impassable paths have done their duty in safekeeping it. Yazd is a multicultural land, in which the Iranian people have been living peacefully with their peculiar customs alongside each other. This province has many various attractions, different than those of the other parts of Iran, which has only added to its beauty. Green valleys and highland areas, springs, mountains and peaks, caves, wildlife and hunting grounds and specially the desert attractions are of the interesting features of Yazd province’s nature, some of which are considered as the important recreational places the province.
The province has an area of 131,575 km², and according to the most recent divisions of the country, is divided into ten counties:Abarkuh County, Ardakan County, Bafq County, Behabad County, Khatam County, Mehriz County, Meybod County, Ashkezar County, Taft County, and Yazd County. According to the 1996 census, Yazd province had a population of about 750,769, of which 75.1% were urban residents while 24.9% resided in rural areas. At the 2011 census, its population (including Tabas County, which was transferred to South Khorasan Province) was 1,074,428, in 258,691 families; excluding Tabas County, its population (as of 2006) was 895,276, in 241,846 families.
History
Yazd has a history of over 5,000 years, dating back to the time of the Median empire, when it was known as “Ysatis” (or “Issatis”). The present city name, however, is derived from Yazdegerd I, a Sassanid ruler of Persia. The city was definitely a Zoroastrian center during Sassanid times. After the Arab conquest of Iran, many Zoroastrians migrated to Yazd from neighboring provinces. By paying a levy, Yazd was allowed to remain Zoroastrian even after its conquest, and Islam only gradually became the dominant religion in the city.
Most Popular Tourist Attractions Of Yazd Province
Amir Chakhmaq Square, Yazd
Amir Chakhmaq Square is one of the most beautiful tilework and architectural masterpieces of century 9 AH. It belongs to Timurid period, and was called the same in Safavid era. Some of these monuments were revived in Shah Abbas's reign. This complex consists of bazaar, Tekyeh , mosque, and two water reservoirs.
Amir Chakhmaq Tekyeh was registered in 1951, and Amir Chakhmaq Mosque was registered in 1962 in Iran’s National Heritage under the registration numbers of 383 and 247, respectively. Moreover, these monuments as well as their belongings were registered under the name of "Amir Chakhmaq Complex" under the registration number of 2416.
Meybod Icehouse
The historical adobe fridge in Meybod in Yazd is one of the sights in this city.
The fridge with a history that goes back to the time before Qajar period (probably Safavid era) is one of the few fridges remaining in Yazd Province that is made of adobe and mud. The main parts of this elegant monument include shadow-caster walls, ice pond, fridge tank and a dome.
Ice production process was this way that they would lead stream or aqueduct water down to ice ponds during cold nights in winter so that a thick, presses and multi-layered ice can be formed on icebounds. They break the ice and put in pachals when it is formed. Then they pour water between the ice pieces to make them pressed. This will make them longer before they melt. The water gained from melting the ice is not left aside. A narrow water stream was seen down the pachal to lead the negligible amount of water obtained from melting ice to the well.
Meybod Fridge is registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments on 16th of Dey 1375 with registration number 1826.
Dowlat Abad Garden, Yazd
Dolat Abad Garden is one of the old gardens of Yazd in Iran, and one of the highest brick wind catchers in the world, which is 33 meters and 80 centimeters high, has been built in it. The design of the garden is one of the most exquisite ones among the designs of Iranian gardens. Dolat Abad is as important as Fin Garden in Kashan and Shazadeh Garden in Kerman. Dolat Abad Garden of Yazd is one of the Iranian gardens registered in UNESCO World Heritage.
During New Year holidays, the garden hosts many people interested in nature and architecture. At least one thousand people visit the garden daily during that time.
This beautiful precious garden was registered on March 12, 1968 under the registration number of 774, and Pahlevanpoor Garden of Mehriz was registered on September 29, 2002 in Iran's National Heritage. By international registration of these monuments, the first registration of Yazd’s international monuments was done.
Fire temple of Yazd
Zoroastrian fire temple is located in the center of Yazd Province, where Atash Bahram is maintained. Atash Bahram is a fire that comes from Karyan Fire Temple in Fars Province, which is one of the three largest fire temples in Sassanid dynasty. Its fire, which has been burning for years, is currently maintained in Yazd Fire temple.
This fire temple belongs to Zoroastrians who offered their prayers there for years. It was constructed in 1934 by a Persian person residing in India.
The fire of this temple has been continuously burning since before Islam.
This monument was registered in Iran’s National Heritage on September 13, 1999 under the registration number of 2431.
Jameh Mosque of Yazd
Great Jame Mosque of Yazd is one of the historical and architectural masterpieces of the world. It can be claimed that this mosque has the world's highest minarets. The building of this landmark mosque has been attracting attention since very long time ago. Based on historical books of Yazd, "the mosque was constructed in the place of Sassanid fire temple (Atashgah), and it was built by Alaoddoleh Garshasp." This mosque is one of the most beautiful mosques of Timurid dunasty, which is a shining example of the architecture of 9th century AH in terms of Rafi' Gate tilework, minarets, and its inscription. Although the main construction of the mosque is attributed to pre-Timurid period, its present construction, based on the inscriptions, indicates that it was built in Timurid period.
Jame Mosque of Yazd was registered in Iran’s National Heritage in 1934 under the registration number of 206.
Pahlavanpur Garden
The historical Pahlavanpur Garden is located in Mazvir Abad Neighborhood in Martyr Zarein town and is registered in the list of national monuments by Culture and Tourist Organization with registration number 6334. The building was built in the late Qajar period.
The two gardens of Dowlat Abad and Pahlavanpur along with 7 other Iranian gardens were agreed to be registered in the list of world heritage in the thirty fifth meeting of World Heritage Committee.
Pahlavanpur Garden in Mahriz is related to Qajar period and is located in Mazvir Abad Neighborhood and is rare in its kind in the whole area and belonged to one of the businessmen in Yazd called Ali Pahlavanpur.
Zemestan Khaneh Mansion is in the western side, Sharbat Khaneh Mansion (Kushak) in the central part, service parts (stalls, storehouses, janitor house, etc.) and spinning workshop and carpet weaving is in the southern side. The most invaluable section of the garden is Kushak Mansion or Sharbat Khaneh in three floors with an area of 1500 square meters. Kushak Summerhouse is highly decorated and is considered the most precious part of Sharbat Khaneh Building. This mansion is located on the main axis of the garden according to the regulations of Iranian gardens.
The stunning and precious Dowlat Abad Garden and Pahlavanpur Garden were registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments with numbers 774 and 6334 on 46/12/22 and 81/7/7, respectively. The first world monument registration of Yazd Province took place by the registration of these two gardens.
Chaparkhaneh, Meybod
Chaparkhaneh of Meybod dates back to Qajar era which is registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments with registration number 2767. It has been one of the major post offices and chapars in the past that was established on the ancient Rey-Kerman Road and beside Meybod Inn.
Chaparkhaneh duty was to keep and treat a few fresh horses and messengers to quickly snet and transfer important letters and trust properties. Hence, chaparkhanehs were built in the form of castles so that they can be protected and this importance can be clearly seen in its high towers and walls and the holes for watching, shooting and its appropriate defence position.
This adobe building is given in trust to the Department of Post in Yazd Province to be used and turned into a museum.
Ashkaft Yazdan Cave
Ashkaft Yazdan Cave was the place for keeping the fire that was transported from Nahid Fire temple to Haftad Village near Aqda. Then it was transferred to Turkabad in Ardakan and after 30 years of protection in Ashkaft Yazdan Cave, it was finally brought to Yazd in 1325 solar year and is now lit in Bahram Fire temple in Yazd City.
This ancient cave is near Aqda and is one of the holy caves of Zoroastrians. The entrance of the cave is very difficult to pass. However, there is a vast area inside the cave that can contain thousands of people. Several small and big pools and building structures can be seen inside it. Lots of ashes can be seen in the cave which show that the holy fire used to be protected in these caves for years.
Aghazadeh Mansion
Aghazadeh Mansion and its wind-catcher were for Qajar era and is located on Abarkuh, Darvazeh Neighborhood, Abarghu Square. It was registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments on 24th of Bahman 1375 with registration number 1838. The owner of the mansion was Seyyed Hussein Abarghuyi, one of the wealthy people in Abarkuh. Its area is 820 square meters.
Cashes with value of 20 thousand Rials were distributed in Iran with a design of this historical mansion on since 1393.
Chak Chak Shrine
Chak Chak or Chaku Chaku is one of the important Zoroastrian shrines. This shrine that is also called “Pir-e Sabz” by Zoroastrians is located between Ardakan and Anjireh Mountains in Ardakan in Yazd Province. Every year Zoroastrians are gathered in this shrine on 24th of Khordad for four days to pray.
Mehregan Festival is held in this shrine every year and many Zoroastrians gather in that place.
It is said that “Chak Chak” or “Chak Chaku” is derived from the sound of the drops of water that fall down from a rock and is now led into a storage tank. Pir-e Sabz Shrine has facilities such as electricity, drinking water and several rooms that are built for resting. These rooms are called “Kheileh”. The fire temple is a hollow cavity in the heart of the mountain that has made it look like a room. A roof has been built over it and its floor is covered by mosaic. It has marble columns, stone walls, windows and two metal doors and the paintings of Zoroastrian guards with spears in their hands is on the doors just like the ones that can be seen in Persepolis. There is a well with the depth of more than 50 meters in one of the rooms. According to Zoroastrians, when Muslims attacked Iran at the time of Sassanid King, Yazdgerd, Nik Banu, the daughter of the king ran away from the Muslims and escaped towards Ardakan and hid and disappearaed among the mountains. So the place became the shrine for Zoroastrians. One of the servants of Nik Banu named Gohar Banu (Morvarid meaning Pearl) is also buried a few kilometers fro her which is known as Pir Herisht.
Towers of silence in Yazd
Zoroastrians Dakhme is also known as "Towers of Silence". This dakhme lies 15 kilometers southeast of Yazd around Safaiyeh District, on a low sedimentary mountain called "Dakme Mountain".
Dead bodies would be put in this tower in the past. In the distant past, the corpses would be placed on top the tower to be eaten by birds. Later, the bones would be dropped into a well. This would prevent soil pollution.
The Towers of Silence was registered by Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization in the list of Iran’s National Heritage in 2002 under the registration number of 6312.
Narin Qaleh (Narin Castle), Meybod
The building which is known as Narenj Castle in common language is one of the most important historical monuments before Islam in Yazd Province. Narin Ghal’eh in Meybod town in Yazd is another historical and stunning mansion in ancient Iran whose builders’ architecture and art has attracted the attention and admiration of archeologists and history lovers. Its long background has given it a legendary identity such that the compiler of Yazd History has attributed the castle to the time of Solomon (AS). This old castle which is on top of a hill in front of Meybod has all its parts made of adobe and mud and its architecture is in stratified form.
The castle was built in about 5 stages. The oldest section of the building includes spaces carved in the heart of the earth and are called “Boken” in local language and make its lowest part. This old building was nationally registered in 1354 with registration number 3490.
Alexander's Prison
This 15th-century domed school is known as Alexander’s Prison because of a reference to this apparently dastardly place in a Hafez poem. Whether the deep well in the middle of its courtyard was in fact built by Alexander the Great and used as a dungeon seems doubtful, no matter what the guide says. The building is worth a look for the small display on the old city of Yazd, but mostly the fee covers access to a warren of craft workshops.
The dome of Eskandar Prison is made of raw clay and is decorated with plaster works and golden and azure watercolor. The noteworthy architectural features of the dome are traceable in other domes dating to the Mongolian period in Iran. Each side of the domed tower is almost 9 meters long and it rises almost 18 meters tall. There is little left of the inscriptions inside the dome but from what remains it appears to be kufic writings. The material used in much of the building is clay, however, it has been restored with bricks in the past few decades. Some steep stairs lead the way down into the dungeon although nowadays it is a beautiful room decorated with tables and red carpets and serves is a tea house.
Ziyaiyeh School with about 8 centuries of historical background is located beside Twelve Imams Shrine in Fahadan Neighborhood in Yazd. This monument was established in 631 hijri year by the famous scholar, Zia al-Din Hossein Reza and was completed in 705 hijri by his sons, Majd al-Din Hassan and Sharaf al-Din Ali.
This monument was registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments with registration number 770.
Lariha House, Yazd
Laris’ Mansion and its windcatcher are related to Qajar period and are located beside Kolah Farangi Mansion in Fahadan Neighborhood on Imam Khomeini Street in Yazd. This monument is registered in the list of Iran’s national monuments.
Laris’ Mansion includes six gates with totally desert-specific house architecture. The doors, windows, orosis and rooms with mirror works and painted are one of the beautiful and perfect examples of luxurious houses of thirteenth solar century. This complex is beside other historical buildings such as Ziayieh School or Alexander’s Prison, Seyyed Golsorkh Shrine and Yazd Tower.
Yazd Water Museum
Yazd water museum was set up in 2000 in the wake of the first international conference on Qanat in Yazd. The museum building has once been a merchant’s house, named Kolahduz-ha, built in 1929.
This Museum displays the tool, techniques used for the past 4000 years in Iran in creating underground waterways (called Qanats) and connecting them to the city and field locations for agricultural and other uses. Before the Romans built their aqueducts, Iranians had built an extensive system of underground qanats (aqueduct). A lot of these systems are still functioning today. In fact there is a large one under this Museum.
Two Qanats are running beneath the museum at different levels, which are reachable through a special stairway called Payab. This museum has put on display a variety of water objects from Qanat to water ownership documents.
Some parts of the house structure represent some parts of water history in the region. For example the stairway to Qanat or a reservoir on the roof can show how water technologies and everyday life have been interwoven in the past.
Zurkhaneh Saheb-al-Zaman in Yazd
Zurkhaneh sport is another name for Iranian traditional sports. The place where they do traditional sports is called a Zurkhaneh”. Apart from traditional sports, athletic wrestling is also done in Zurkhaneh.
The world registry documents of athletic and zurkhaneh traditions were prepared by the efforts of Iranian Federation of Athletic and Zurkhane Sports with the help of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Orgaization. Athletic and zurkhaneh traditions were registered in UNESCO list of spiritual heritage by Iran on 25th of Aban 1389 or 16th of November 2010.
Saheb al-Zaman Zurkhaneh (AJ) is the greatest zurkhaneh in Yazd Province and all its equipments and materials are from Cultural Heritage Organization and its land is for Endowments Directorate.
Shish Badgiri Ab Anbar, Yazd
This monument was built 180 years ago in Qajar period and reconstructed in 1371 AH. This water reservoir, which is the most beautiful water reservoir in Yazd, was constructed by Haji Hossein Mirollah. It was registered on March 24, 1978 in Iran's National Heritage under the registration number of 1600
Saryazd Castle
Saryazd Castle is located near Yazd-Kerman Road and in Koshtkhan Field beside Saryazd Village and is one of the greatest and most beautiful castles of Mehriz County along with Mehr Padin Castle. The castle dates back before Islam. This monument is surrounded by a trench with a six meters width and depth of four meters and the trench is considered the first defense layer of the castle. The castle has two defensive rampart and fence. The outer fence with a height of six meters includes three circular towers and a square tower and the inner fence with 9 meters height includes six circular towers. The inner space of this castle that dates back to the Sassanid era was built in a specific order in two floors a three floors at times including residential sector, service sector, etc. The complexity in inner spaces along with the tower and ramparts and simple and courtly geometrical shapes on them and the beautiful outer volume of the building are its unique features that have made Saryazd Castle as one of thethe most picturesque castles in the country.
This monument was registered in 27th of Khordad 1354 with number 1084 as one of the national monuments in Iran.
Jameh Mosque of Fahraj
The oldest Iranian mosque is located in one of the ancient villages of Yazd. Jameh Mosque of Fahraj lies 30 kilometers from Yazd City and goes back to the first half of century 1 AH.
It is the only mosque of Islamic World whose building has not changed so far since it was constructed.
This monument was registered in Iran’s National Heritage on December 4, 1970 under the registration number of 906.
