Yazd: The Pure City

Posted May 26, 2022 by Jan
Iran

Yazd

Yazd Province

Iran

May 26, 2022

Yazd

The historical city of Yazd was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

Because of generations of adaptations to its desert surroundings, Yazd has a unique Persian architecture.  It is nicknamed the "City of Windcatchers."  It is also very well known for its Zoroastrian fire temples, cisterns, underground channels, water coolers, Persian handicrafts, handwoven cloth, silk weaving, Persian cotton candy, and its time-honored confectioneries.

The Amir Chakhmaq Complex is a prominent structure in Yazd.  It is noted for its symmetrical sunken alcoves and a mosque.  It also contains a caravanserai, monastery, bathhouse, cold water well, and confectionery.  During the Iran–Iraq War and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with the United States, many Iraqis and Afghanis came to inhabit the Amir Chakhmaq Square.

Rafsanjan and the Pistachio Farm

Posted May 25, 2022 by Jan
Iran

Rafsanjan City

(pop. 137,000)

Kerman Province

Iran

May 25, 2022

Hello,

On the drive north from Kerman City to Yazd, we stop for lunch where we meet a group of pistachio farmers. (Rafsanjan is known as the largest producer of pistachios in the world.) Ali invites us to visit his farm.   How can we refuse?

After a leisurely snack and drink, Ali introduces us to his foreman and the Afghani workers.  In Iran, Afghanis are a highly respected group.  They arrive on time, put in a full day’s work, and are scrupulously honest.  (Apparently in Iran there are now four million Afghanistan immigrants/exiles/refugees.)

Ali takes us on a tour of his farm including the production and storage areas. He is quite proud.  And like everyone else I meet in Iran, overly generous.  

Kerman and the General

Posted May 24, 2022 by Jan
Iran

Kerman (pop 850,000)

Kerman Province

Islamic Republic of Iran

May 25, 2022

Salam,

During his lifetime, General Qasem Soleimani was a controversial military and political figure in Iran.  I learned that some families were supportive of him.   Others not.

But in response to his untimely death of “unnatural causes” in 2020 at the airport in Baghdad, Commander Soleimani was elevated to the status of a revered national hero.  Hundreds of thousands attended his many funeral processions around Iran.

Qasem Soleimani is buried here in the Kerman Martyrs Cemetery.  Each day a government official arrives to lay a wreath at his grave.  He is joined by dozens of other mourners from Kerman and from Qanat-e Malek, Soleimani’s home village.  Black clad women prostrate themselves on the black granite marker.

Dasht-e Lut

Posted May 20, 2022 by Jan
Iran

Dasht-e Lut

The Lut Desert

Kerman Probvionce

Iran

May 19, 2022

Hello,

Before venturing into the desert itself, we stop at the ruins of an ancient town, an abandoned caravanserai, and a sign for the Nebka Park.

Around the sign are sand “dunes” raised several meters above the stony, completely lifeless level ground. The dunes contain complete ecosystems of trees whose roots hold the whole structure together against the forces of wind and possibly even occasional rain.

Icehouse and Cedars

Posted May 20, 2022 by Jan
Iran

Kerman Province

Iran

May 19, 2022

Hello,

We made two stops during the long ride from the gulf coast to Kerman.

Sirjan:  We sat on the grass and enjoyed a watermelon picnic in the shadow of the Sirjan Icehouse. *

Sirch:  In a fertile valley at the edge of the desert we visited the village of Sirch and posed for photos in the shade of the ancient twin cedar trees. **

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