Yazd

When travelling, we think it’s best to avoid the major cities unless they have something really special to offer. Yazd is one of those special cities. As Yazd is one of the oldest cities in the world its has a large cultural heritage. All of which remains in the old quarter. The whole area consists of mud brick houses and contains an impressive mosque. In the morning we were invited to have a look at a guesthouse that was being build. We were asked to give some input on what travellers wanted and liked. It was interesting to see an old derelict building being rebuild with mud bricks. By the looks of it, it was going to be the hotspot for tourists and travellers as it was perfectly situated next to the grand mosque and had fine views of the city.

And that’s where we went afterwards, the mosque. We got a small tour of the mosque and were asked to view a canal system that provided the ancient city with fresh water. Its amazing how they dug the small canals, which are in total 44! km long and are all underneath the city. From the mosque we headed into the oldtown and teamed up with a French couple from Nancy. We climbed on one of the roofs of the old buildings (open for visitors) and enjoyed the views of the city and the surrounding mountains.

In the afternoon we visited a Zoroastrian site. Zoroastrianism is a cult that worships the basic elements and especially fire. Most of their sites are in Iran where they keep fires that have been burning for hundreds and hundreds of years. We wondered what the point of that was but couldn’t find the answer. But we did find out that there is more to it and that they also worship Mazda. Nope, it’s not the car but the god of wisdom.

The heat of the day, not the fires, got to us and we decided to find some shade and we headed back to the bazaar. Some fresh juice did the rest! Yazd has a wonderful feeling to it and it’s amazing to know that it is one of the oldest cities in the world which hasn’t grown out of proportion. Especially the old centre is very quite and relaxing and there are some fabulous places to stay.