Yazd  يزد

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22 aprile - 11 maggio 2013
Uzbekistan - Turkmenistan - Iran

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Yazd su wikipedia in italiano.

Marco polo a Yazd (da wikipedia in inglese)

OLD CITY بافت قديم
The city’s historic centre emerges like a phoenix from the desert – a very old phoenix. Yazd’s old city is one of the oldest towns on arth, according to Unesco, and is the perfect place to get a feel for the region’s rich history. Just about everything here – including 2000 Qajar-era houses – is made from sun-dried mud bricks, and the resulting brown skyline is dominated by tall badgirs on almost every rooftop. The residential quarters appear almost deserted because of the high walls, which shield the houses from the narrow and labyrinthine kuches (lanes) that criss-cross the town.

Follow our walking tour (p 180 ) or just wander around; you’ll discover covered walkways, simple courtyards, ornate wooden doors and some lovely adobe architecture. And be sure to get yourself to the rooftops at some point for fi ne views over Yazd and into the vast brown expanses of the desert.

Masjed-e Jameh مسجد جامع MOSQUE
(Jameh Mosque; Masjed-e Jameh St) Dominating the old city, this magnifi cent building has a tiled entrance portal that is one of the tallest in Iran, fl anked by two magnifi cent 48m-high minarets and adorned with an inscription from the 15th century. The exquisite mosaics on the dome and mihrab, and the tiles above the main western entrance to the courtyard are particularly stunning.
The gardoneh mehr (swastika symbol) used on the tiles symbolises infi nity, timelessness, birth and death and can be found on Iranian buildings dating back as early as 5000 BC.
Built for Sayyed Roknaddin in the 15th century, the mosque is on the site of a 12th-century building believed to have itself replaced an earlier fi re temple. In the courtyard there is a stairwell leading down to part of the Zarch Qanat (closed to the public). Roof access is barred to everyone except Muslim women, who are allowed up on Fridays only.

Bagh-e Dolat Abad باغ دولت آباد HISTORIC BUILDING, GARDENS
(admission ; h7.30am-5pm, to 10pm summer) Once a residence of Persian regent Karim Khan Zand, this small pavilion set amid Unesco-listed gardens was built about 1750. 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.

FBogheh-ye Sayyed Roknaddin بقعه سيد رکن الدين SHRINE

(Mausolem of Sayyed Roknaddin; off Masjed-e Jameh St; h8am-1pm & 4-8pm Sat-Thu, 10am noon Fri) The beautiful blue-tiled dome of the tomb of local slamic notable Sayyed Roknaddin Mohammed Qazi is visible from any elevated point in the city. Built 700 years ago, the dome is fairly impressive but the deteriorating stucco inside and other decoration remain more so. The door is often closed but a knock should bring the caretaker.

Khan-e Lari خانه لاری HISTORIC BUILDING

(admission ; h7am-6pm, to 8pm summer) This 150-year-old building is one of the best-preserved Qajar-era houses in Yazd.
The badgirs, traditional doors, stained-glass windows, elegant archways and alcoves mark it out as one of the city’s grandest homes. The merchant family ho built it have long gone, and it’s now home to architecture students and cultural heritage offi cers. It’s signposted west of Zaiee Sq; see the walking tour (p 80 ) for directions.

Alexander’s Prison زندان اسکندر HISTORIC BUILDING

(Zaiee Sq; admission ; h8am-sunset, 8am-1pm & 4pm-sunset summer) This 15th-century domed school is known as Alexander’s Prison because of a reference to this apparently dastardly place in a Hafez poem. Whether the deep well in the middle of its courtyard was in fact built by Alexander the Great and used as a dungeon seems doubtful, no matter what your guide tells you. The building itself is worth a look for the small display on the old city of Yazd, the clean toilets and the mercifully cool subterranean teahouse.

The early-11th-century brick Tomb of the 12 Imams is almost next door to Alexander’s Prison. The once-fi ne (but now badly deteriorated) inscriptions inside bear the names of the Shiite Imams (see the boxed text, p 302 ), though none are actually buried here.

Amir Chakhmaq Complex مجموعه امير چخماق RELIGIOUS

(Amir Chakhmaq Sq; admission US$0.30; h7.30am-2.30pm Sat-Thu) The stunning threestorey facade of this Hosseinieh makes it one of the largest such structures 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 fl oodlit. Recent work has added arcades at the side to keep traffi c away from the structure. You
can climb to the 1st fl oor of the structure and look over the square, but higher levels are not accessible.

Underneath the complex is a bazaar where kababis specialise in jigar (grilled liver). In front of the Hosseinieh, look out for the huge wooden palm nakhl, an important centrepiece once used for the observance of the Shiites’ passionate Ashura commemorations.

Saheb A Zaman Club Zurkhaneh زور خانه صاحب الزمان ZURKHANEH

(admission ; hworkouts 6am, 6pm & 8pm Sat-Thu) Just off the north side of Amir Chakhmaq Sq is the Saheb A Zaman Club Zurkhaneh, which is worth seeing both for its Iranian brand of body building and because it’s a quite an 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 fi ve 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; see (p 292 ). Note: only males are admitted.

ZOROASTRIAN SITES اماکن زرتشتی

Ateshkadeh آتشکده FIRE TEMPLE

(Sacred Eternal Flame; Kashani St; admission US$0.90; h8am-noon & 3-6pm Sat-Thu) Zoroastrians come from around the world to see this ateshkadeh, often referred to as the Zoroastrian Fire Temple and 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.

Dakhmeh-ye Zartoshtiyun برج خاموشی HILL

(Towers of Silence; h24hr) These evocative Zoroastrian Towers of Silence are set on two lonely, barren hilltops on the southern outskirts of Yazd. They haven’t been used since the 1960s. At the foot of the hills are several other disused Zoroastrian buildings, including a defunct well and a water cistern and two small badgirs. The modern Zoroastrian cemetery is nearby. The easiest way to get here is by taxi dar baste return, including waiting time of 45 minutes or so while you climb to the top of the towers and back.