YAZD
Another detailed Yazs Site
"A mosque in the vicinity of Khan Square"
"Yazd, a historical City"
A historical city which regrets never having been a capital while so many now
forgotten ones were, Yazd commermorates by unusual monuments the importance
given it by scores of scientists and thinkers in past centuries.
"Vagt u Sa'at Mosque, 1326"
This building is in fact the tomb of Sayyid Rukn ad-Din, and is all that remains
of a complex erected to his orders known as the Institute of Time and the Hour
whoese mechanical devices made it one of the wonders of the age.
"Yazd, the portal of Jami Mosque"
"Jami's Mosque"
The Firday Mosque crowned by a pir of minarets, the highest in Persia, the
protal's facade is decorated from top to bottom in dazzling tilework,
predominantly blue in color. Within there is a long arcaded court where,
behind a deep-set south-east Ivan, is a sanctuary chamber. This chamber,
under a squat tiled dome, is exquisited decorated with faience mosaic:
its tall faience Mihrab, dated 1365, is one of the finest of its kind in
existence.
The Mosque was largely rebuilt between 1324 and 1365, and is one of the
outstanding 14th century buildings in Persia. The tilework has recently
been skilfully restored and a modern library built to house the mosque's
valuable collection of books and manuscripts.
"Jami's Mosque"
"Yazd, Bazaar"
Bazaar Entrance, 19th century. This incredibly imposing bazaar entrance was
an excuse for a magnificent display of ostentation. The bazzar itself is
comparatively small, but the entrance is undoubtedly the grandest in Iran.
The twin minarets rival those of the Jami' Mosque, while the entire facade
is decorated with glazed titles and plaster stalactite vaulting. The wooden
framework is decorated and carried during the procession for the mourning
for Imam Husayn.
"Bazaar Entrance"
"Fire Temple"
This is Yazd's "Fire Temple". The intitates meet there, but nobody
apart form the Grand Priest, a descendant of the Magi, reciting the
Avesta, has access to the Saint of Saints where for th past 3000 years
a fire burns in a brazen vessel. The fire itself is a representation
of what is good.
"Outside view of a Zoroastian Fire Temple"
"Towers of Silence"
These "Towers of Silence" overlook an impressive desert and mountain
landscape where the last worshippers of the Ahura Mazda faith dwell.
"Dowlatabad garden, and its famous windtower"
The heat is blistering in the south, on the edge of the Great Desert. High chimenys acting
as air-vents bring some comfort to these dwellings.
"Water House"
Enormous domes starting at ground level and also surmounted by arivents act as
protective roofs for deep water-tanks six, eight or ten meters below the
street level, which are reached by staircases. These buildings are so clean
and well cared for that they look as if they were build yesterday.
