We have breakfast early in the morning and go out to visit the city of Yazd on foot. Yazd, considered one of the oldest cities in the world, took its name from the word “yazdan” meaning holiness and grace. This is a unique and very important city in terms of architecture, with unique examples of Persian architecture. One of the reasons why this city, which has the largest canal (qanat) network in the world because it is one of the driest and least rainy cities in the country, is called the “city that catches the wind” and one of the most important features of the city architecture is the large underground areas and traditional architectural materials that provide natural ventilation in the buildings. Thanks to the 30 cm high wind chimneys (badgir) rising on the roofs of the houses and the holes opened on the tops of these chimneys, it cools the heat of the desert and directs even the slightest breeze into the building, cooling the heat of the desert and acting as a natural ventilation (air conditioner). This design was unbelievable at that time. In addition, due to the very hot summer months, many houses in the city have ice-pits (Yakhchal), areas where glaciers from the mountains around the city are stored. Yazd is also very famous for its high quality handicrafts, especially silk weaving, and is even one of the main centers of the entire country. The city, whose history dates back 3000 years to the Sassanids, was an important city on the caravan route extending from Central Asia to India. As I said, it is one of the oldest cities in the world, so we start our tour in the back streets of the old neighborhoods of the city. Yazd is a growing and developing city, even though it is stuck between the modern city, the old city and its castle, dating back to the 12th century, and the ceramics on its walls are so nostalgic that even we found scenes from our own country’s history. I hope they appreciate it and do not destroy it. You can get lost in history while walking among the streets. While walking among the adobe houses, I cannot help but think about who lives and what is happening behind the garden walls. Old wooden doors are so familiar and warm that they remind me of the villages of my Anatolia and even the streets of our old neighborhoods in Istanbul that still manage to survive. For example, it is interesting that the garden walls of local people with more conservative lifestyles in narrow streets are high and the door knockers on both wings of their doors are different, but this is not foreign to us, just like in the Ottomans, it is clear which knocker the person will knock depending on their gender, and the different sounds made by the knockers are also different. Once it is understood that the visitor is a man or a woman, it shows who should open the door or that women should cover themselves while opening it. When we look generally at the city, which has 12 bazaars, it has a completely simple architecture. EMİR ÇAKMAK COMPLEX We continue to wander the streets of the city and come to the Emir Çakmak complex, the symbol of the city. A 10-meter high vehicle similar to a cylindrical wheel, which we see in the garden of the mosque, in various parts of the city, and in the old city, albeit in a small size, symbolizes the coffin of Imam Hussein. This symbolic tool “Nakhl” is carried by dozens of people at the front of the cortege during the mourning ceremonies held every year on the 10th day of Muharram for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. People who feel the weight of this vehicle on their shoulders are Hz. They show their devotion to Hüseyin by suffering him, they lament and cry. It takes its place in the square to be used again next year. Emir Çakmak Mosque – MESCİD-İ CUMA Right next to the Emir Çakmak complex, we see an imposing, magnificent gate with two minarets on it. The door is so impressive that I think, who knows what beauties it hides behind it? This is Emir Çakmak or also known as Cuma Mosque. It was built in the 14th century. It is an imposing building with its traditional four-iwan structure and many small domes and arches on the front. The minarets look truly extraordinary. The two minarets above the gate are the tallest among the mosques in Iran, with a height of 48 meters. The minarets are decorated with blue tiles and extraordinarily beautiful motifs. The entrance door is a wooden door that is obviously made by a very good master. The iwan above it and the iwan ceilings in the interior and corners are also magnificent honeycomb ceilings. The decorations, decorations, mosaics, everything is incredibly beautiful. I think the mosaic tile-covered dome on the iwan is one of the most beautiful domes in Iran. The mihrab is also covered with beautiful mosaics, and the place where the imam prays is one step lower than the level where the public prays. FIRE-KADAH, in which a fire is lit to never go out… The city of Yazd is also a city of Zoroastrians, where many Zoroastrians live. Fire Goblet – also known as Atesgede – is considered sacred by the people of the Zoroastrian religion, the first official religion of Iran. Today, we are going to one of the Fire Temples where the ever-burning ATAŞ, which is sacred to the religion of Zoroastrians who continue their religious worship freely in Yazd in today’s Iran, is kept. **Those who are interested can find information about the “Zoroasters” or “Maccuzis” (mentioned in several sections of my articles) at the end of this article** This is a simple building in a very plain garden, architecturally similar to the Zoroastrian Temples in India. On the upper part of the building, there is a symbol in the form of a human on top and a bird with wings spread on the bottom. The three layers on the wings represent his beliefs advising “think well”, “speak well”, “act well”, the open wings represent his efforts to spread goodness around, the circle he holds with one hand represents loyalty, the other hand represents respect. This is not Ahura Mazda, but FARAVAHAR, the symbol of Mazdaism. The wing has three parts: think correctly, say it, do it… This is what we call “light”. This is the main idea of ​​the Achaemenids. This philosophy says, just be a decent man. Those who accept this belief are called “Magorians” and their priests are called “Bananas”. The inside of the building is as simple as the outside, the fire in a glass pane has been burning without going out for 470 years. Some verses from the Avesta, the holy book of Zoroastrians, and their English explanations are hung on the walls of the museum in the next building. A building thought to be an Ateşgede was found within the Ani Ruins, located within the borders of Ocaklı Village of Kars and unearthed during an excavation in 1909, and it is believed that this building was built in the 4th century. Information for those interested: ZOROUCHTIAN RELIGION (MAZDEISM) (or also called MAZDEISM in connection with the name Ahura Mazda they gave to the only god they believed in): B.C. It is a belief or religion that was put forward by the Iranian prophet Zoroaster in the 6th century to correct the old religion, defending the belief in a single god against polytheism in Iran and worshiping only Ahura Mazda. According to this belief; The world will be destroyed by a fire, only the good ones and those who choose good will be saved, they will wait in heaven until a new world is established and they will take their place in the new world. Evil people and those who choose evil will go to hell. Their holy book is “Ahura Mazda”. This belief, which became widespread among the Medes and Persians, was made the official religion of the Sasanian Dynasty as Zoroastrianism. Over time, after the spread of Islam in the country, the Zoroastrian religion continued to exist for three more centuries, and then Zoroastrians migrated to India due to religious pressures. In the 19th century, this economically and culturally powerful community established relations with the Gebris, the last Zoroastrians in Iran. Today, there are 4 important elements for Zoroastrians, whose representatives are Parsis and Gebris, and the majority of them are found in India and Iran. Air, water, earth and fire, the most important of which is fire. For this reason, a fire burns in all Fire Houses that has never gone out for years. They believe that there will be no evil where there is fire, and the fire ritual is very important to them. Their philosophy is this – think right, say right, do right – just be a decent man, he says. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? In MAZDAISM or Mazdekism, a dualist religion popularized by Mazdek, a Zoroastrian priest, there are two basic principles, good (Light) and evil (Darkness); The coexistence of good and evil, darkness and light, black and white is called duality. We cannot ignore one while having the other. In this belief, which is based on free will, people choose. We will think right, say right, do right, and choose what is good. According to this belief, Mazda Aura governs everything and goodness in the space where there is bright light. TOWERS OF SILENCE Zoroastrians believe that if they bury the body of a dead person, the evils he did while he was alive will pollute the land. For this reason, they built towers on the hills outside the city. In order to prevent human flesh from polluting the soil and to keep the soil clean, instead of burying the dead bodies, they left them on a grate placed on a large pit dug inside these towers, and after the birds ate the dead body, they took the bones and buried them. However, in recent years, the state has banned the use of these towers of silence and this practice. Today we are going to see one of the towers, the towers are built on a high hill, we climb the steep hill through a dirt road. Our group of 12 people is slowly losing ground and 4 of us complete this climb and reach the tower. There is a big pit in the middle, and the grill on which they left their dead has been removed due to the ban. Although it was not very interesting, our climb was not in vain; a beautiful view of Yazd from the top and beautiful photographs relieved our tiredness. **Our hotel in Yazd is the 4-star Safaiyeh Hotel; It is not a very big hotel, but it is a very cute hotel with its garden and lobby. Our other hotels were also good, but I liked this hotel the most. We will stay in a very famous hotel in Isfahan, let’s wait and see 🙂 See you in Isfahan, the last stop of our trip… Mavimore Tourism is a travel agency registered with TÜRSAB. Document number: A-8307