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EveryParampara

Traditions of Yazd

A desert city of mud-brick houses and wind towers, and the main home of Zoroastrian faith in Iran.

Yazd is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, built of mud-brick with wind towers, badgir, that cool the houses. It is the heart of the Iranian Zoroastrian community, who keep a fire temple with a flame said to have burned for more than 1,500 years. The city is known for its sweets and for its qanats, underground water channels.

Yazd: Yazd, Iran
Photo: Ninara, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Fire and festivals

Zoroastrians gather at the fire temple of Yazd for prayer and keep the festival of Sadeh in winter. Tir and Mehregan are other seasonal festivals. On Chaharshanbe Suri before Nowruz, people jump over small bonfires to rid themselves of illness and misfortune. The Zoroastrian New Year is also a major event.

At the table

Yazd is famed for its sweets: baklava, qottab, almond pastries fried and dipped in syrup, and pashmak, cotton candy of fine sugar threads. Saffron and cardamom are used in rice and teas. Shir berenj, sweet rice milk, is a winter treat.

Signature traditions of Yazd

SadehThe mid-winter fire festival.Chaharshanbe SuriThe Persian fire jumping festival.

Also part of it, and being written: Zoroastrianism in Iran (The faith in its home.), Qottab (The Yazdi almond pastry.).

A trail idea for Yazd

  1. Atash Behram See the sacred fire from outside the sanctuary.
  2. Amir Chakhmaq Complex A tall mosque square at sunset.
  3. Old town lanes Walk the covered passages.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇳 Mumbai, India and 1 moreFire templeآتشکده A consecrated sanctuary where Zoroastrians tend sacred fires and gather for worshipSpiritual 🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 3 morePersian gardenباغ ایرانی An ancient tradition of creating walled, geometric sanctuaries of shade and flowing waterCraft 🇮🇷 Isfahan, Iran and 4 moreMehreganمهرگان An Iranian autumn festival honoring Mithra, friendship, and the harvestSeasonal 🇮🇷 Yazd, Iran and 1 moreSadehسده An ancient midwinter festival of fire, light, and the approach of springFestival · Feasts and festival meals 🇮🇷 Amol, Iran and 3 moreTirganتیرگان (Tirgān) An ancient Iranian summer festival of water, poetry and rainbow bands, kept on the thirteenth day of Tir.Festival · Feasts and festival meals

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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