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Published: August 12th 2007
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Yazd
View of Yazd So what is this badgir you talk about? Well... It is the world’s oldest form of air-conditioning and very eco friendly too! Travelling through the desert cities of Iran, one can't help but notice them as they are everywhere... We might call them wind towers, because that is essentially what they are... Towers to catch even the slightest breeze and then lead it, through a column of water to cool it down, into the house, while the warm air is led through separate vents upwards and out of the same towers... How ingenious is that!! I for one think that everyone should get rid of their conventional air conditioning and build one of those... They look cool too!
The ultimate badgir city is Yazd, my destination after Esfahan... It is one of the world’s oldest cities and is made up from old mud brick houses, venerable mosques and loads of badgirs, which make for pretty photo's... I stayed on the roof of the Silk Road Hotel and just lazed about many of the days as it was too warm to do much... In the evening I would climb to a rooftop somewhere in the old town, or up a minaret
Yazd
The high entrance portal of the Jameh Mosque
and watch the sun set over the multitude of badgirs... Very relaxing indeed...
After this I headed for Kerman, not as relaxing but still alright, it has a nice bazaar, but the town itself is not that interesting, being mainly a modern city with ugly apartment blocks.. But there are a few excursions I took to nearby villages which is the reason for visiting Kerman... First I went to Rayen, which has an Arg, or citadel, made of mud bricks and after the earthquake finished of Bam's much huger Arg, this is the next best thing... Than I visited Mahan which has a very charming mosque/mausoleum complex...
Next I headed down to Bandar-e Abbas, which people had warned me was hotter then hell.. And they are right... It is on the Persian Gulf and hot and humid... I went to Hormoz Island which was once long ago occupied by the Portuguese and still has the remains of a fort they build... For those of you who know how hot Bandar is, I can tell you, Bandar is like the North Pole compared to the heat on Hormoz!! Phew, I melted away at 08:00 in the morning and was
Yazd
It's me on the Jameh Mosque
happy to leave the place before 09:00... I don't even want to imagine how it feels at noon!! I stayed the rest of my time in my air-conditioned room in town until I could catch a night bus to Zahedan...
In Zahedan which is close to the Pakistani border and in Iranian Baluchistan, there is a big police and army presence, due to the unruly tribes and because drug smuggling is big business here.. A lot of road blocks, and I got a police escort to the bus station when I wanted to get a bus to Zabol... It basically means you are put in a police car and brought to the station where they take down the number of the bus you are getting on and the name of the driver... For me it meant a free ride to the bus station, courtesy of the Iranian government!!
I never made it to Zabol, at the last check point before getting into the town, I was taken of the bus by the police and questioned what I was doing in this remote part of the country... I told them I wanted to visit Kuh-e Khajeh, one of the
Yazd
Minaret and view of Yazd from the Jameh Mosque
few remaining ruins of the Parthian era in Persia, some 2000 years ago... They didn't understand this but if I did want to see it I should take a taxi for my safety... That was to expensive for me, so than I got another police escort to the ruins and than to the bus station... More free rides and a free guided tour of the site, thanks to the friendly Iranian police! Chapeau! I say to them!
I got on the bus to Masshad and was picked up after phoning him, by Vali who has a lovely and cheap home stay in town. His wife makes the best Iranian food I have had and I am being taken good care off... Masshad is Iran's holiest city, it is where Imam Reza's shrine is, a very holy man in Shia Islam... Yesterday, Vali took me with him to his home village, to help him dig his own grave!! Yes, you read it right! I helped him dig his own grave... It is not often you can help a man dig his own grave and it is certainly not something I would have expected to do ever... But there it is,
Yazd
Resting on a rug in the Jameh Mosque
I have now done it... He believes it will bring him good luck if he digs it himself... Not that he is going to die very soon, I give him at least another 40 years, but I suppose by that time he might not be able to do any digging anymore... Today I bought myself some Afghan clothing as tomorrow I will be heading into Afghanistan!
Fast facts:
Dangers and annoyances: Watch out for ferocious goats around Masshad, one tried to bowl me over the other day... Not as bad as being bowled over by a buffalo (as I know somebody has been) but one has to start small...
Most bizarre occurrence: Digging the grave of your host!
Nicest place to stay in Iran: Silk Road Hotel in Yazd and Vali's home stay in Masshad...
Hottest place: Hormoz Island, where one can fry an egg on a melting piece of ice...
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mehrdad
non-member comment
dear friend
yr nice shooted photo thru the semicovered alley makes me to say this: tnx