Photos

The architecture of Yazd is unique, combining a proliferation of those graceful bad-girs (wind towers) seen in central and southern Iran: the houses are surmounted by high turrets with openings oriented toward the dominant winds; these insure the ventilation of the tower parts of the house rather like air-vents on a ship. Enormous domes starting at ground level and also surmounted by air-vents act as protective roofs for deep water-tanks six, eight or ten meters below street level which were reached by stair-cases. The whole town is the color of clay, as memorable as the distinctive ocher of Hormoz. The residential quarters appear almost deserted because of the high walls protecting the houses from the very narrow and labyrinthine alleys crisscrossing the town.