Chak Chak

Sacred Temple of Chak Chak

Between mountains and plains there is a Zoroastrian temple on top of a mountain, in the middle of the solitude of the desert. Chak Chak is located 60 km from Yazd city, near Sharif Abad village in Ardakan, the second largest city in Yazd province. Through this desert landscape accompanied by a small purple and pink mountain range, at the end of a path decorated with wells (kariz) in the heart of the central desert of Iran, perched on the side of a cliff, this uninhabited town welcomes every year from June 14 to 18 to Zoroastrians around the world.

Legend, in Zoroastrian belief, attributes this place to Nikbanu, the second daughter of the last Sassanid ruler, Yazdgerd III. It is said that Nikbanú took refuge in this place from the attack of the invading Arab army in 640. The Sassanid Empire was the last imperial dynasty of Persia before the rise of Islam. They say that Nikbanú prayed to Ahura Mazda to protect her from her enemies, as she was afraid of being captured. In answer to her prayers, the mountain miraculously opened and sheltered her. The temple includes a cave with a still flowing spring at the top of the mountain overlooking the desert. Two spearmen appear in two large bronze doors at the entrance and in front of a sacred tree, which must have been the princess’s cane. Inside, a fire burns in the central altar and three candles are lit in a niche. Here, we can read Zoroastrian morals: good thoughts, good words, good deeds.

Bastam

Bayazid Bastamí’s Tomb

Commonly called Bayazid Bastami, nicknamed Sultan-al-Arifin (King of the Mystics), he is the great mystic of the 9th century AD. Bayazid is said to have returned to Bastam after a few years of exploration and asceticism and that he spent most of his life and died there. He left no works, but his disciples and followers transcribed his speeches which were cited in various books such as “Tabaqat al-Sufiyya” and “Tazkirat al-Awliya”.

Kashaneh Tower

Located on the southeast side of the Aljama Mosque of Bastam, north of Shahrud. The tower’s polygonal architecture, with its beautiful moldings and calligraphy on the walls, has made it a spectacular attraction. This 20-meter high tower is decorated with an inscription written in Kufic on the top of the tower. Numerous studies show that the building was a fire temple and that after the advent of Islam it was used as a mosque.

Bam Citadel

In the province of Kermán is the incredible citadel of Bam made of adobe. Authentic work of engineering with an area of ​​180,000 square meters and more than 1000 years old dating back to 500 BC. In the past it was one of the most important cities and an unavoidable stop on the mythical Silk Road passing through Iran. The citadel consists of 400 houses and 67 castles apart from the largest one in the middle with panoramic views. The castle walls measure between 6 and 7 meters. The houses are of three types: those that are small with 2.3 rooms for lower-class families, the largest ones with 3.4 rooms for middle-class people and the luxurious ones that mostly belonged to the Jews. The last king of the Zand dynasty died here. The citadel was completely destroyed in an earthquake in 2003. You can still imagine walking through its streets how its schools, the stately courtyards, the governor’s palace and the old Jewish quarter would be like.

Badab-e Surt

Badab-e Surt Springs, Mount Damavand and Sarv-e Abarkuh (Abarkuh Cypress), Lut Desert and Dashte Kavir are some of the most fascinating natural places in Iran’s national heritage. The Badab-e Surt springs, after Pamukkale in Turkey, are ranked as the second largest source of salt water in the world, with their unique structure (in the shape of stairs) and colors. Badab-e Surt is located in the Chahar Dangeh district of Sari in Mazandarán province. Mineral deposits accumulated at the foot of mountains over thousands of years have created hundreds of red and yellow-orange scale-shaped puddles.

Ardestan

Ardestan is located near Dasht-e Kavir, one of two deserts in central Iran. For centuries, its inhabitants had to cope with extreme heat and lack of water. The locals dug long tunnels (Kariz) in order to bring the water available from the springs in the mountains to Ardestán. The Kariz system, that is, the aqueduct canals, is an ingenious invention of the Iranian highland inhabitants of the 5th century BC. In fact, in Iran, especially in the desert areas, there are still vestiges of this system, which is known as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Ardestán is a small town located on the Yazd-Kashan highway and is not far from Isfahan. In the Middle Ages, Ardestán was one of the most prosperous cities in the region, as evidenced by its great Aljama mosque. The Quran requires that all Muslims in a city participate in Friday noon prayer, which is why the great mosque where they gather is called the Great Friday Mosque.

Ardakan

Ardakan is the capital of the central Ardakan constituency and the second largest city in Yazd province. It was founded in the 12th century in the Zardug region. Ardakan is located 60 kilometers from Yazd and has a dry climate. The word Ardakan in Persian means “holy place” or “clean place” (and the city has many historical religious attractions such as the Zir-e-Deh mosque, Emam-Zadeh Mir Seyed Mohammad and the Tekyeh bazaar and the central district known as Sharkh Ab (water distribution).

Yazd province is one of the Zoroastrian centers of Iran and there are many holy places dedicated to this cult practiced in Iran. Chak Chak and Sharif-Abad are two places that each summer welcome thousands of Zoroastrian pilgrims from all over the world.

Alamut

The enigmatic Alamut Castle (Hasan Sabbah Castle) is nestled among the mountains at the western edge of the Alborz mountain range, in a valley near Qazvín in the southern Caspian Sea. In the past, part of these mountains formed the Deylán district where it remains hostile. This area, located between the central plateau of Iran and the Caspian Sea, constitutes a formidable natural barrier. On the north side, the slopes are heavily forested and there are wild animals like wild boar, bear and even some species like the Caspian tiger, which is on the verge of extinction.

The history of Alamut Castle is closely linked to that of Hasan Sabbah (1034-1124) and therefore it will be useful to know about his ideology and religious doctrine as he was the leader of the Nasrid sect. The power of the Nasrids, also called hashshashín, whose fame is indebted to their strategy of targeted assassinations against political and military leaders, reached its peak during the Fatimid dynasty. Hasan Sabbah was born in Qom to a Shiite Twelfth family and received religious education from an early age.

Abarkuh 

Abarkuh is one of the oldest cities in Iran, located in the center of the country and in the Yazd province. The presence of numerous archaeological sites testifies to an ancient civilization. As this city was first built at the foot of the mountain, kuh in Persian, it was called “Berkuh” (next to the mountain), which later became “Abarkuh” in popular language. With the passage of time, the city was officially named “Abarkuh.” In various ancient and recent sources “Abarqu”, “Abarkuyeh”, “Abarquyeh” have been mentioned. In addition to the archaeological sites, Abarkuh, due to its geological position and the characteristics of its land, produces one of the best apricots in Iran. Between the months of June and July, farmers sell this sweet and tasty fruit in trucks on the sides of urban roads, or it can also be enjoyed as a dried fruit.

Meymand

One of the oldest settlements in Iran, a 3,000-year-old handmade rocky town. The town is located in a valley surrounded by mountains, in the province of Kerman, whose first inhabitants decided to excavate caves in the mountain rocks and settled there. Today, the rocky houses, called Gonbeh or Kiche, some of which have been inhabited for millennia, are home to about 350 villagers. The locals have maintained their ancient customs, which has led to a semi-nomadic lifestyle and the use of an ancient Persian dialect. The town cannot be missed if you like photography, hiking, camping, nomadism and mountainous landscapes.

The village won the UNESCO International Prize for its ability to preserve its lifestyle despite high temperatures and cold winters in 2005 and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2015.

Persepolis (Takht-e- Jamshid)

It is one of the great wonders of Iran. Impressive ruins steeped in the history of the mighty Achaemenid empire. The Persians called the city Parseh, while the Greeks called it Persepolis whose meaning is the city of the Persians. Darius I began the construction of this palatial city in 518 b. C., inspired by those buildings so typical of Mesopotamia, and continued for about 120 years by his successors and later kings. Persepolis covers an area of ​​125,000 square meters, built on an artificial terrace of which some still some platforms survive forming four different levels. The building’s rocks weigh more than 250 tons. According to some discoveries, these rocks had been extracted from mines and transferred to this city and from all nations such as Iranians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Elamites and Assyrians, people came to cooperate in the construction of the Achaemenid palaces.