Monday, October 12, 2015

Yadz, Iran, October 12, 2015

Breakfast was what has become 'typical' Iranian-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs and tomato, dry bread, cucumber, tomato and feta for salad, yogurt, honey dew melon, watermelon and apples, tea and coffee.  How about carrot jam?


It's a lot like marmalade without the tang.   Cedrate seems to be some sort of squash.  It didn't really have much taste-


The Towers of Silence-


are the former burial hills of the Zoroastrians, however the burial site hasn't been used since the 1960s when the Islamic government forced them to start burying their dead in a proper cemetery-




Zoroastrianism was the main religion in Iran until the Arabs brought Islam.  Zoroastrians follow the prophet Zoroaster (born between 1500 BC and 1000 BC).  He asked people to pray to him facing light, so fire temples were built (at this time they had no other source of light).  The core lesson in this religion is the battle between good and evil and Zoroastrianism's two principals are good mind and bad mind.  Zoroastrians believe in purity of the four elements - air, earth, wind and water, therefore, they refuse to pollute the earth so they won't bury their dead. 

When someone died, they would wash the body very well, using the water from this collection point-


 Stairs led to the access to the water-


Once the body was clean, it was taken to the top of the hill-


and laid out for the vultures to pick the bones clean.  In a few days, the relatives would return and place the bones in the hole and cover them with lime.

The family would stay in the houses at the bottom of the hill-


Badgirs or windtowers are everywhere.  They are an ingenious form of natural air conditioning that redirect even the slightest breeze into the buildings below, providing cooling.  They capture wind from all four directions.  Often there is a pool of water below the badgir to cool the air and another shaft that lets the hot air out of the house-



The Zoroastrian Fire Temple, built in 1934, has 4 pillars to represent the 4 elements-


At the top of the temple is the Fravahar symbol witih three rows of wings to lift him to heaven but also three rows of tail feathers to send him to hell.  The large ring represents the circle of life and the smaller ring represents pledge and promise, like a wedding ring. The three blue circles say good thoughts, good deeds and good words-


Inside the temple burns the eternal flame which has been burning since 470 AD.  Zoroastrians pray to God standing in front of a flame or the sun-


Mirchaghmagh Square or Mourning Place is where mourning groups gather for rituals and ceremonies for Hosseiniye which is a festival to commemorate the third Iman-


Eight unknown soldiers from the Iran/Iraq war in 1985 are buried in the Hosseiniye-


The cradle represents Hosseiniye's 6 month old son who was the youngest of the 72 people killed in Iraq in 684 A.D. protesting the treatment of the Shias.  Cradles like this are only found in Yadz-


Hosseiniye and his son-


The sagha were water sellers, today immortalized in statues and fountains-


Lunch was in a traditional restaurant.  Dizi is made of chick peas, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, soft boiled mutton, lime, animal fat and spices.  It is ground together at the table and eaten with herbs on pita bread-


Iranians love their sugar.  Two tonnes of sweets are sold from this shop every single day-


Most of the dainties were flavored with cardamon-


Sugar shops are everywhere-


Batons of sugar are put in tea-


Lunch was pickled cabbage, pickles, a grilled tomato, rice with saffron and lamb kebab-


Chicken, beef, lamb, goat, kidney and even liver kebabs are popular-



Falude is made from rice noodles, rose water and usually fresh fruit.  It's a refreshing dessert-


Graffiti - Good days are coming-


Pottery made locally-


and Termeh weavings are popular.  Termeh is the bent tip of a Cypress tree.  Originally, these weavings were used for palace decoration and ceremonial clothes but today they are found in most Iranian homes and are fashionable for bridal trousseaus-


Our restaurant was ready for every celebration-


Lots of restoration is being done on buildings.  Tiles are being replaced on this dome-


Thursday October 15 is the first day of Moharam, which lasts 10 days.  In 682 AD, 72 Shias walked 10 days in Iraq into Sunni territory to protest the treatment of Shias.  All were killed on day 9 except Hussein who was killed on day 10.  Today people commemorate this slaughter with 10 days of mourning.  Shias were Iranians and Sunnis were Arabs.   Camels are used in these mourning processions-



The Old City is, according to UNESCO, one of the oldest places on earth.  Everything is made from sun dried bricks-







Straw and mud are put together, then stomped on for mixing-



The doors in the old city are beautiful-


The Masjed -e- Jameh Mosque has minarets that measure 48 meters high-



It was built for Sayyed Roknaddin in the 15th century-


The front worship area has a lowered compartment for prayer so when Muslims pray, they are below God- 


The gardoneh mehr (swastika symbol) means birth and death, as well as infinity and timelessness.  It's found on many Iranian buildings, dating back to 5000 BC-


The tile work is fabulous-







It's even found on banks-


The aroma of spices permeates everywhere.  Curry is made of many spices and available in a  redi-mix-


Some of the people of Yadz-




Water fountains are everywhere.  The old-


and the new-


Iranian fashion????


I am enjoying my time here but I am having great difficulty with the head scarf.  I feel claustrophobic, super hot and like I have tunnel vision.  It feels like I am just a number, not really a person because we all look alike.  I would hate to live here for that reason.  Thankfully, there is a sub culture, just like everywhere, so people break the rules.  I look forward to the day when the women unite and have a chador burning ceremony so they can feel free.  Men aren't off the hook either.  They must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves.  Their costume isn't as bad as ours and I suppose everyone gets used to the heat, eventually.

Tomorrow is a long drive day to Kerman.  I'm looking forward to more kebab!



































1 comment:

  1. This place is so beautiful, I'm enjoying the trip so far.
    Marianne

    ReplyDelete

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