Iran - Andrew Burke [210]
The early-11th-century brick Tomb of the 12 Imams is almost next door to Alexander’s Prison. The once-fine (but now badly deteriorated) inscriptions inside bear the names of the Shiite Imams (see The 12 Imams, Click here), though none are actually buried here.
Amir Chakhmaq Complex
The stunning three-storey façade of the takieh (a building used during the rituals to commemorate the death of Imam Hossein) in the Amir Chakhmaq Complex (Amir Chakhmaq Sq; admission IR3000; No Ruz only) is one of the largest Hosseniehs in Iran. Its rows of perfectly proportioned sunken alcoves are at their best, and most photogenic, around sunset when the light softens and the towering exterior is discreetly floodlit. Recent work has added sides, though their exact purpose wasn’t clear when we visited (hopefully not shops!). During the No Ruz holiday it’s possible to climb up for spectacular views across Yazd, but at most other times it’s closed.
Underneath the complex is a lacklustre bazaar, where kababis and souvenir shops open only when there is sufficient interest. In front of the takieh, look out for the huge wooden palm nakhl, an important centrepiece for the observance of the Shiites’ passionate Ashura commemorations.
Saheb A Zaman Club Zurkhaneh
Just off the north side of Amir Chakhmaq Sq is the Saheb A Zaman Club Zurkhaneh (admission IR10,000; workouts 5pm & 8.30pm Sat-Thu), which is worth seeing both for its Iranian brand of body building and because it’s a quite amazing structure. The modern club is inside a cavernous ab anbar (water reservoir) built about 1580. Looking like a 29m-high standing egg from the inside, and crowned with five burly badgirs, the reservoir stored water for much of the town. The hour-long workouts in the Zurkhaneh are an interesting window on Iranian culture; Click here.
BAGH-E DOLAT ABAD
Once a residence of Persian regent Karim Khan Zand, Bagh-e Dolat Abad (admission IR30,000; 7.30am-5pm, to 6pm summer) was built about 1750 and consists of a small pavilion set amid quiet gardens. The interior of the pavilion is superb, with intricate latticework and exquisite stained-glass windows. It’s also renowned for having Iran’s loftiest badgir, standing over 33m, though this one was rebuilt after it collapsed in the 1960s. The entrance can be reached from the western end of Shahid Raja’i St.
Zoroastrian Sites
Yazd is home to the largest and most active Zoroastrian community in Iran; see (below).
Ateshkadeh
Zoroastrians come from around the world to see this Ateshkadeh (Sacred Eternal Flame; by appointment), often referred to as the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, 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.
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ZOROASTRIANISM
Zoroastrianism was the main religion across the Iranian plateau until the Arab Conquest brought Islam to the fore. Zoroastrians are followers of Zoroaster (Zartosht or Zarathustra), who was probably born between 1000 BC and 1500 BC, possibly near present-day Lake Urimiyeh or further north in Central Asia – no-one is sure. Zoroastrianism was one of the first religions to postulate an omnipotent, invisible god. The supreme being, Ahura Mazda, has no symbol or icon, but he asked that followers pray to him in the direction of light. The only light the ancients controlled was fire, so they created fire temples to keep the flame burning eternally.
Very little of what Zoroaster wrote has survived, though the teachings in the Avesta (sometimes referred to as the Zoroastrian bible) are attributed to him. The core lesson is dualism: the eternal battle of good and evil. Zoroaster believed in two principles – Vohu Mano (Good Mind) and Ahem Nano (Bad Mind), which