MIR Corporation's Travel Blog:
Ancient Persia, Modern Iran
Follow along with MIR Corporation Tour Specialist Meaghan Samuels as she explores beautiful and enigmatic Iran on MIR's Ancient Persia, Modern Iran small group tour.
- Day 1: Arrival in Tehran
- Day 2: Tehran
- Days 3-4: Tehran, Bandar-e Anzali, Masuleh Village
- Day 5: Tehran, Yazd
- Day 6: Yazd
- Days 7-8: Yazd, Kerman
- Days 9-10: Kerman, Shiraz, Persepolis
- Days 11-12: Shiraz, Firuzabad, Yasuj
- Day 13: Yasuj, Isfahan
- Day 14: Isfahan, Tehran
Day 6: Yazd
April 11, 2008
More than 200 miles away from the very modern and metropolitan city of Tehran, Yazd is noticeably more rustic. Yazd is one of the main centers of Zoroastrianism, so naturally our first stop is at the Zoroastrian Temple. Oddly, we picked a day to visit when the wishing well was being cleaned out. Hundreds of thousands of coins sparkle in piles out in front of the temple.
Next we stop to see wind towers, called badgir in Persian, which were built for the purposes of ventilating the structure below. The towers catch the wind, and circulate air into the building. Some are as old as 500 years, and are still used today.
We walk through the Old Town; this small bit of exercise gives us a chance to stretch our legs and have more interaction with the local residents. We learn that many of the Iranians we meet here are also visiting tourists.
After wandering the ancient roads of the Old Town, we stop for lunch in what was once a bathhouse. Under the beautifully painted tiles that remain from when the bathhouse was operational, a wonderful meal is served. The first dish is a delicious cold cucumber soup, which we all found refreshing after being out under the sun. For the main course we have chicken in pomegranate sauce and saffron rice.
After lunch we visit the lovely Dowlat-Abad Garden, which also has a wind tower. We then see the magnificent Towers of Silence. Several of our group climbed most of the way to the top of the southern tower, and enjoyed the unique vantage point from that height.
Photos from this leg of the tour (click to enlarge):
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