Things to Do in Yazd, Iran

Quick facts: One of the most magnificent examples of Iranian ceramic and tile art, where the color blue dominates the walls. 900 square meters of tile cover the building, and its entrance portal is Iran's tallest Islamic gate at 24 meters.

Highlights: In the morning light, the blue tiles almost begin to glow, and in the afternoon sunshine, the intricate details of the arabesque patterns on the facades also emerge. Standing under the building's massive brick dome, the visitor is greeted by the stunning acoustic experience of 11th-century Seljuk architecture.

Quick facts: The 19th-century Shiite monument is recognizable by its single massive wall dotted with regular recesses, rising three stories high. The bazaar belonging to it winds for 400 meters, and the locals primarily know the square as the setting for daily shopping and tea house conversations.

Highlights: The 567 regular niches of the facade are bathed in orange light in the evenings, as if a giant illuminated honeycomb were rising from the edge of the desert. The lone water reservoir standing in the middle of the square also fades into the obscurity of the past, though during hot summers, passersby used to cool their melons here with a bucket pulled up from the depths.

Quick facts: The 33-meter tower is one of the tallest wind towers in Iran, cooling the interior spaces with natural ventilation. The garden was built in the 18th century by Mohammad Taqi Khan, who also created a massive underground aqueduct system for the city's water supply.

Highlights: Inside the octagonal pavilion standing in the middle of the bagh (Persian garden), the walls are covered with intricately worked mirror mosaics that scatter sunlight hundreds of times throughout the rooms. Through the 65-meter-long underground corridor system, air flows up through the wind tower into the pavilion, remaining 15-20 degrees Celsius cooler even during the heatwave.

Quick facts: The flame that burns here is said to have been alight for over 1500 years, making it one of the oldest continuously burning fires in the world. The sacred fire kept in the temple was collected from nine different sources before being brought here at the beginning of the 20th century.

Highlights: A huge Faravahar symbol carved in stone watches over visitors in the center of the facade, one of the most ancient symbols of the Zoroastrian faith. The light filtering through the temple's stained glass dances in the interior, surrounding the ancient flame with an almost supernatural glow.

Quick facts: According to the Zoroastrian funeral ritual, the bodies were exposed to the vultures on this elevated site. The towers built in the 6th century no longer host ceremonies, but the spirit of the place remains just as strong.

Highlights: Inside the towers there is nothing frightening and no spectacular architectural elements. What can be felt on the hilltop is the complete silence and the 2500-year-old wisdom that death does not mean the end of life, but the return to nature.

Quick facts: Centuries ago, Persian engineers built an underground canal system that carried water even in the desert heat. Some of the qanats displayed in the museum could be as long as 70 kilometers, and the water never touched the surface.

Highlights: You can walk down underground alongside a 300-year-old qanat, where you can hear the water babbling among the stone walls. One of the most unique pieces in the exhibition is a 2000-year-old clay pipe that the ancient Persians used for water conduction.

Quick facts: The 9th-century structure was actually never a prison, but a huge cistern and resting place in ancient Persia. The name comes from local legends saying that Alexander the Great held rebellious nobles captive here.

Highlights: Inside, a vast dark dome hall unfolds before you, where the walls of the 8-meter-deep cistern are traced by light reaching from above. The perfect silence and the air that is 12 degrees cooler creates the feeling as if you have stepped back into another century.

Quick facts: The 19th-century merchant palace boasts hand-carved beams and stained glass windows. The pool in the middle of the courtyard creates the cool microclimate of Persian gardens in the desert heat.

Highlights: The interior walls of the house are covered with 47 different geometric patterns, hand-carved from gypsum stucco with the consistency of whipped cream. On the ceiling of one room, there is a 200-year-old wooden circular composition hiding secret symbols that can only be discovered at a certain angle of the southern sunlight.

Quick facts: A continuously operating bath complex for over 400 years, where you can admire a stunning example of Persian architecture. Beneath the enormous domes covered with colorful mosaics and mirror decorations, not only a bathhouse but also a bazaar awaits, where you can buy handmade products.

Highlights: Sunlight filters through hundreds of tiny openings in the inner side of the dome, creating a starry sky above the pools even during the day. Standing under the 12-meter-high ceiling adorned with colorful glass mosaics, you almost forget that you are in an underground structure.