Dakhmeh or Tower of Silence is a place used by Zoroastrians to place the corpse of deceased. The body of a dead person is considered to be polluted, and left on a stone in the highest part of a hill to be eaten by wild animals. In Zoroastrianism, the elements are sacred and must be saved from pollution; therefore, the body that is the epitome of pollution can’t be buried under the soil or burned by fire and is left on a stone platform away from the city until nothing is left but a mass of bones, then the bones are placed in a small pit in the middle of the tower.

The burial ceremony begins in the foothill when the family of the deceased say their final goodbye and then the body is carried by two members of the family to the tower accompanied by a priest and two of tower’s keepers. Beside the keepers, no one is allowed to enter the tower, so the body is given to them outside the tower’s door and then carried to the tower by the keepers.

Dakhme or Dakhneh means the house of evil and although today the word is used to refer to scary places it was originally meant a place of burning, a place that was used by Arians for burning the bodies of the dead. When Zoroastrianism became the main religion of the country the burning places were turned to towers of silence. Whether made by human or as a result of a natural phenomenon, they were made to be easily accessible by the animals and therefore were mostly roofless with small holes in the surrounding walls. They were made outside cities and villages over hills so that the smell and possible pollution wouldn’t reach the city.

The tower is a circular construct where the floor is covered with stones and there is a pit in the middle. The pit was used for the bones of the commoners whereas the royals and nobles were placed in Ostudan that were hand carved holes on the mountains, the best example of which is the Naghsh-e Rostam of Fars Province.

Yazd’s Towers of Silence are a a pair placed on the top of a hill in the southern parts of the city. As a city with the highest population of Zoroastrians, it is considered a traditional Zoroastrian place among all Iranian. The tradition is no longer observed as before but the area surrounding the city is still used to bury the deceased in cemented cells. The towers are not used anymore and have turned into a tourist attraction.

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Located in the heart of Iran plateau, the city of Yazd was close to the traditional Silk and Spice Roads. Residents of Yazd have been adapting themselves to live in this arid land for thousands of years. By employing indigenous techniques, qanat to draw underground water, Badgir or wind-catcher to cool their houses, people of Yazd have sustainably used their limited available natural resources to survive in the desert.

Yazd is also known as the city of wind-catchers. In the past, every house had wind-catcher and so, a forest of win-catchers could be seen above the roofs. Wind-catchers cooled the inside the houses via even small breezes. People of low income had small two-sided wind-catchers while affluents used to construct bigger four-to-eight-sided ones.

Dowlat Abad garden of Yazd has the world’s tallest wind-catcher reaching to some 40 meters with eight sides.

Yazd has also been hosting plenty of Ab Anbars. Ab Anbar is the oldest desert construction for reserving water. Some Ab Anbars were public and made in neighborhoods but some rich people had private Ab Anbars in their houses. Wind-catchers were constructed above some Ab Anbars to circulate air into the water reservoir and keep the water cool and fresh.

The old city of Yazd having kept its authenticity embraces many elements of Iranian urban design such as old houses, bazaar, water reservoir, and mosque. Each district is shaped in different eras in history. The district of Kushk-e Now is famous for its water reservoirs, hosayniya, and bazaar. The fame of Fahadan district is for its narrow and twisting alleys and authentic old houses. Lab-e Khandaq district is also known for its historical constructions such as bazaar Khan, hosayniya, caravanserai, Sa’at or Markar square in the vicinity of Jameh Mosque of Yazd, and its historic houses.  Ghale Kohneh, Sar-e Dorah, Chahar Menar, Mosallah, and Yaghoubi are among other historic districts of Yazd.

The historic districts of Yazd are fraught with religious elements. The city has long been one of the most religious towns in the country and a center for Zoroastrianism after the arrival of Islam. However, Islam became the dominant religion gradually, and the Islamic rituals in Yazd gained both national and international reputation. Amir Chakhmaq square and Shah Tahmasb hosayniya played central roles in Safavid and Zand dynasties. Nowadays, several sacred places of Muslims, Zoroastrians, and Jews have turned Yazd into a city of various regions, living in symbiotic peace for centuries.

Historic City of Yazd was registered in UNESCO World Heritage list in 2017.

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Takht- e Soleyman was a principal sacred place of Zoroastrianism, the Sassanid (224 – 650 CE) State faith that influenced monotheism. The general layout of the site became an architectural reference for East and West architecture, especially Islamic architecture. Takht-e Soleyman also has strong symbolic significance about the continuation of a cult related to fire and water over the last 2,500 years.

The site consists of an artesian spring-lake, Azar Goshnasp Zoroastrian fire temple, a temple dedicated to Anahita (the divinity of the waters), a Sasanian royal sanctuary, an ancient volcano, Zendan-e Soleyman (Prison of Solomon), and remains of temples older than burgeon of Zoroastrianism.

Located in ancient Ganzak or Shiz, Azar Goshnasp fire temple housed one of the three revered Great Fires dedicated to the warrior class of the Sasanid. In 624 AC the Roman Heraclius attacked Ganzak and destroyed Azar Goshnasp. The chahartaq (an architectural unit consisted of four barrel vaults and a dome used for keeping the sacred fire in Zoroastrianism) with surrounding corridors is located on the north side of the spring-lake.

The biggest construction on the site was Sassanid royal court with rooms of different size surrounding an iwan. The three rooms at its western front have wide openings to the outside perhaps for ceremonial purposes, and the iwan opens to the north side of the lake. Because of destructions and reconstructions in the Sassanid era, different materials including mud bricks, baked bricks, and stone are used in the buildings.

The site obtained its name after the Arab conquests. According to folkloric legend, King Solomon (whose name is come in Hebrew Bible, Old Testament, and Quran) incarcerated monsters inside a nearby 100 meters-deep crater known as Zendan-e Soleyman or prison of Solomon.

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From the beginning of history, Iran have always been a religious country, and religion played pivotal role in it. Iran is a vast country in terms of area; therefore, only a powerful central power with religion as its basis can cause unity in society. Official religions in Iran includes Islam, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism and Mandaeism. Beside Mandaeism, which is not numbered in population, other religions have a representative in Iranian parliament.

Islam

Islam is the official religion of the country. Since the Arab’s conquest of Iran, little by little, people turned to Islam and its practice spread through the country. Quran is the holly book of Muslims, and the religion has two sects of Sunni and Shi’a (Shiite). The difference was made over the succession of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. Sunni followers considered Abu Bakr, the advisor and right hand man of prophet to be his successor; however, the Shiites believed that after the death of the prophet, Ali (prophets cousin and son-in-law) should become the leader and director of Muslim. The dispute of the two group ended when Abu-Bakr finally came to power, but the bad blood remained for centuries. Since Ali and his defendants are blood related to the prophet, the followers of this sect are known to be the followers of the descendants of the prophet. About 10% of the Iranian population are Sunni Muslims and approximately 90% are Shia. The Shia has various sects itself, but most of Iranian are what is called 12-Imam Shiite that means the followers of the 12 descendant of the prophet. Shia became official religion of Iran from Safavid dynasty.

Zoroastrianism

The first official religion of Iran was Zoroastrianism, and the best and main source of knowing this religion is an ancient book known as Avesta. In the oldest section of Avesta that is attributed to Zoroaster himself,  and is known as Gahan, Zoroaster teaches his followers that there is only one God, Ahura Mazda. He advises his followers to “Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds” as the main principle of a good life. According to available inscriptions, Zoroastrian religion has been widespread in Iran since Achaemenid dynasty and realized as an official religion in Sassanid dynasty. Although, with the advent of Islam large number of Iranian converted to Islam but Zoroastrianism still has its followers in Iran.

Christianity

From the beginning of the first century B.C., Christianity spread in Iran and missionaries traveled to North West and West of the country. The Parthian rulers of Iran in that era believed in the freedom of religion, and Christians who were under prosecution in Rome found sanctuary in Iran. They built churches which many of them survived and is seen in Northwest of the country. The different sects of Christianity such as Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Nestorianism have their own churches and hold their ceremonies in their churches. Each Christian who travel to Iran can hold religion ceremonies in these churches.

Mandaeism

The followers of Mandaeism are called Mandaeans. They are the followers of John the Baptist, and Mandaeism is considered a gnostic religion. Their holly script is the Ginza Rba or Ginza, a collection of history, theology, and prayers. The record of their presence in the country dates back to 2000 years ago. Baptizing in flowing water is one of the most important section of Mandaeism religion. Water has a specific and holly place among the adherents, and therefore, they live in places that is close to rivers. The followers of this religion are very secretive about their faith; they do not marry outside their tradition and never advertise their religion.

Judaism

The adherents of Moses, known widely as Jews, lived in Iran from 2700 years ago, and are among religion minorities of Iran. They pray in synagogue, and the tomb of Daniel in Susa and Esther and Mordechai Mausoleum in Hamadan are among the most important pilgrimage site of Jews in the country. They have specific school, cultural centers, as well as women organization that offers services to the followers of this religion and is forbidden for the rest to use. They also have specific shops for meats and food that is prepared according to Jewish tradition and law. These centers are especially found in cities of Isfahan, Hamadan and Khuzestan.

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