Yazd

Yazd is A historical city, a gem in heart of desert, a magnificent destination for tourism industry, a cultural center, an industrial center, one of the giants of ceramic and porcelain producers in middle east, land of Qanats, land of pomegranate, land of carpet and rugs, lands of sweets and delicious foods, land of Zoroastrianism and fire temples , land of historical bazaars and historical public bathes, land of historical gardens , land of peace between different religions, land of synagogues, land of mosques and temples , land of religions, land of beautiful mountains, land of wildlife, land of exceptional flora and faunal, land of magnificent caravansaries, land of beautiful old fashion houses, land of beauty and silence, land of drought and water shortage , land of mud and mud bricks, land of wind catchers , land of culture and universities and at last lands of sand and dunes, land of life in hottest deserts of the world, yazd is unique in every aspect of life, yazd is a real piece of diamond. Although Mother of nature is not very kind to yazd province and it is located on one of the toughest lands of the world to live for the people  of yazd ,but they are very kind not in case of mother of nature but all the people who find it as place to stay for a while or for life. No one has the ability to describe yazd in one page or one book. You should experience yazd; you should taste it. you should touch it, you should understand it, yazd is not a city but a country itself, so let's try to briefly understand it more in future.

History of yazd

archaeological evidence in north of yazd city, the capital of yazd province , suggest that yazd was populated even in the achaemenid empire, during Parthian empire its name changed to “Issatis'' which years later became the root of yazd and remained until now. The real Yazd was founded by “Yazdgerd '' son of Bahram, and most of the population at that time followed Zoroastrianism and continued its religion and traditions until Arab invasion and Muslim conquest . Most Zoroastrians migrated to other lands gradually until Islam became the dominant religion in the city. yazd is very close to historical silk road and as destination for many people who escaped other parts of the country because of different wars and invasions of enemies , because of this remoteness and harsh climate and hot weather, even the conquerors hesitated to reach this part of Iran and fortunately this city became one of the remote parts which acted like the cradle to culture and prosperity , even marco polo visited yazd during Mongols domination and traced the culture and treasures in yazd and he described yazd in following way:
“ it is a good and noble city, and has a great amount of trade, they weave quantities of certain silk tissue known as yazdi, which merchants carry into many quarters to dispose of. when you leave this city to travel further, you ride for seven days over great plains, finding a harbor to receive you at three places only. there are many fine woods producing dates upon the way, such as one can easily ride through; and in them there is great sport to be had in hunting and hawking, there being partridges and quails and abundance of other game, so that the merchants who pass that way have plenty of diversion. there are also wild asses, handsome creatures, at the end of those seven marches over the plain, you come to a fine kingdom which is called ….” 
Because of wealth and prosperity, you can find many historical buildings and cultural centers from safavid and Qajars dynasty and even now Yazd is one of the architectural landmarks in Iran. it is interesting to know that Yazd is located in the exact center point of Iran map and one of the wealthiest cities among big cities in Iran. it is important to know that Yazd is confronting to water shortage like other parts of country but because having “Qanat”, a very historical and complicated but sophisticated subterranean interconnected wells and channels invented by Persians thousands of years ago, through achaemenid dynasty even to contemporary Islamic republic of Iran.
walking through narrow but long streets of yazd give you the sense of old fashion history that  you can never experience it in other part of the country, even the smell of mud and mud bricks of Yazd give you and odd sense , reminds you the old history of Persia, touching the history of silk road, gives you an indiscernible sense about yazd Iran , because Iran is Yazd and Yazd is Iran.

tourism in yazd

yazd population has been increasing during the last decade because of wealth and prosperity produced by yazd tourist attractions . some beautiful and famous attractions of yazd city are: zoroastrian fire temple of yazd, yazd houses, yazd qanat , yazd sweets, Yazd gardens, Yazd sweet factories and many other attractions you should taste yourself when you choose yazd as a target for visiting old attractions of Iran .
Walking through old, narrow, roofed and long streets of Yazd is one of the real, natural and unique things to do in yazd which everybody visiting Yazd should experience alone. walking through those old fashion walking streets behind jami mosque and to Alexander prison give you an odd sense which can never be felt  in any part of the world. one of the very interesting inventions of this city’s people is yazd wind catcher of wind towers which acted as a passive air conditioning system in old times. they are like towers grown above old houses confronting the hot wave of winds and conducting the hot air to the house until the basement, this hot air strikes exactly a shallow pool filled by water which is pumped from wells or comes from handmade ditches in roads and streets. when the hot water evaporates the water and because of evaporation the temperature of the pressured wind drop down for few degrees, this cooled air then runs to small channels and at last scape from openings setup in rooms and halls of the historical yazd houses of yazd city to make the atmosphere more pleasant. if you go to yazd city you will find yazd air too hot and dry in a way in hot months of the year like August , yazd air temperature rises to 50 degrees and about dryness we have nothing to say. So yazd wind towers or yazd wind catchers have a crucial position in this city’s architecture.

culture and customs of yazd

Yazd is a melting pot of culture and customs, as I told you in a very fundamental Muslim society which dominates in the country, Yazd is a cradle of different religions like Zoroastrians, Christians, Jude and Muslims which live together like brothers and sisters. Yazd is like a cocktail of customs and cultures. people of Yazd learned to understand each other and live together without religious considerations. even today when you walking in Yazd streets you can feel this human and culture and religions diversity. Yazd is very silent; people of desert have this culture. they work hard and in silence they find the very essence of life. the humanity, the sense of life, the flow of life in water ditches and “Qantas” of Yazd. Culture of Yazd has been very futuristic since a thousand Years ago. After Islam domination in Iran, sometimes following another religion was a great sin, but in Yazd all the people following different religions show how people were so open minded and futuristic that after 14th centuries you can find different cultures and religions mixed together and as a result you can find a very peaceful and solid society ,which even today you cannot find in other parts of the country. Besides all cultural attractions, Yazd is a very modern cultural center. yazd university is a very modern university each year many students from abroad are studying different subjects there and return to their country as an expert.yazd university is a target for local students too, yazd university is a multicultural center to accept many diverse students and has an important role to raise the cultural position of Iran now and future.

How to arrange your itinerary?

the first question, how far is yazd from Tehran? by car you can surf from Tehran to Yazd around 8 to 10 hours depending on you and the road and season, but fortunately Yazd has a railway system. you can choose a train or a car. On the other hand we have very good first class buses and even taxis, they are safe and clean and always have cheap tickets and an abundance of buses are running to good roads and you can enjoy surfing the roads in yazd desert while sitting in a very good car or bus. Yazd has an international Airport, you are one hour away from Tehran by flight. As I remind you Yazd is exactly in the heart of Iran, you can fly to Shiraz, Tehran or other far cities in a very short time. no matter what you choose to reach yazd city, you will have a very exclusive experience which you will never experience in other parts of the country or even other parts of the world.
we have plenty of good hotels in yazd, you can find 5* hotels to very cheap boutique hotels. Boutique hotels are mostly old fashioned historical houses which were restored and refurbished in the last two decades and changed to very cozy and tranquil small hotels where you will experience thousands years of history in just one or two nights. Hotel fees are reasonable and rational so you can stay days in Yazd without thinking  too much about your budget. siting in an old fashion house and drinking tea and yazd sweets in the afternoon is an experience nobody can miss  in yazd city in hot summers of Iran.
As an expert I recommend you to arrange your visiting Yazd by “sanapersian tour and travel service providing group” and you can visit “sanapersian.Travel ” and ask any question or service you need to visit Yazd and other cultural attractions.

The best time to travel to yazd

Yazd is located in a very hot and dry land, in summer it is too hot and dry, In winter it has warm days and freezing nights, the best time to visit Yazd is in March and April, many foreigners cannot tolera

te hot weather of Yazd in summer. but September and October also are very good times to visit Yazd, the weather is more delicate and more tolerable then . Considering low prices in low season it is not bad if you consult sanapersian consulting group which are experts in arranging tours for more than 25 years. They can find the best time and tailor-made itineraries for your own group , considering your very own needs.

pros and cons

Yazd is a very old historic city, Cheap hotels and accommodation facilities are available, good foods and sweets, it is a very safe city with beautiful attractions.
Yazd is located in a very hot and dry land, visiting Yazd in summer and winter is not a very simple job. The harsh climate limits the visiting times for senior citizens.

conclusion

visiting Yazd for tourists who are visiting Iran is a must, not a recommendation. You will never lose your precious money and time. So if you intend to visit Iran, never forget to include Yazd in your itinerary. I will recommend you to consult “sanapersian tour and travel service providing group” before arranging your visit and we are looking forward to visit you next spring, time of blooming yazd desert flowers. Please do not hesitate to call us. We give service to you as a member of our family.

 (Sana Persian tour and travel service provider group)