Photographer's Note
Zoroastrians’ Dakhmeh is the place where the Zoroastrians kept their corpses after death with a special ceremony.
Dakhmeh is an ancient Persian word which is equal to the word “Tower of Silence” in English. And it is exactly the tower of silence because it’s on top of a mountain where is full of silence.
The Zoroastrians didn’t bury the dead body under the ground because they considered it impure. And since the soil was a sacred element to them, they believed if they put the body under the ground they make the soil foul. They similarly didn’t burn the body, because the fire was also a sacred element.
Therefore if they burned a corpse, which was not pure to them, they committed sin. Because the ashes and the light of the impure dead body might go up to the sky, which was improper and bad. So they put the corpses in Dakhmeh for the vultures and other birds to eat. Hence, only the bones of the dead body remained.
Dakhmeh was always far from the denizens or villages. Because it was a place where the wild animals or the birds gathered to eat the corpse so it wasn’t safe to be near the city. And it wasn’t also healthy for the people to be near the dead bodies for a long time. Although the process of eating the body mostly just took several hours.
All Dakhmehs have the same construction. First of all, there is only one door between Dakhmeh building and the road outside. The road didn’t have any steps at that time. But today, the steps are made in the Zoroastrians’ Dakhmeh of Yazd to make it easier for the visitors to get to the main building.
After that, there is a stone or iron door. This door is built to prevent the wild animals to find their way to the building to eat the corpse. Then there is the main building with a circular shape. There was a special place for each corpse according to its gender or age. Men were placed in the outer circle, women in the middle, and the children in the inner-most ring. Then in the centre of the circle is a deep hole where in the end the bones would be thrown in. According to the Zoroastrians’ religion, all the poor and riches will be in the same place after their death which is this hole. This means that no matter who you are, you are always equal to others, no matter you are richer or have a higher position.
Salar was the only person who could get into the Dakhmeh. He took the corpse from the family and carried the body to Dakhmeh, put it on the right spot and then left the place. Salar had a house near the Dakhmeh. He was the person who lived all his life in this place and couldn’t get out. Besides the Salar House, there are other small soil buildings near Dakhmeh. One of them is called the Fire Room. This room has a window faced with Dakhmeh. From the first night after putting the corpse in Dakhmeh till 3 night later, they should light up Dakhmeh from this place. There were two men who were responsible for lighting a fire from the window to Dakhmeh and keeping it burning till the morning.
(https://ncatravels.com/location/iran-tourism-destinations/yazd-travel-guide/zoroastrians-dakhmeh-yazd/)
There are two Towers of Silence in Yazd. The other one in the Workshop. The view of inside the tower also in Workshop.
Map:
https://www.google.pl/maps/@31.8214991,54.3632064,15.15z
Better see in the large format
The other tower
Inside the tower/a>
omid266, papagolf21, holmertz, ikeharel, pierrefonds, PiotrF, macjake, jmdias, mcmtanyel has marked this note useful
Critiques | Translate
Gerrit
(62042) 2020-02-01 18:58
Hello Malgo,
Interesting, a staiway in the desert to an open air graveyard.
Thanks ad regards,
Gerrit
ifege
(49297) 2020-02-01 19:15
Hi Malgo
Shades of the one I visited in Uzbekistan but more complete. A good view.
cheers
Ian
abmdsudi
(95869) 2020-02-01 19:59
Hi Malgorzata
Love the overall earthy colour & depth in this and how you've 'seen' the image, nice strong composition I think. I like the hilltop as major focus of interest with visitors included which adds visual interest. This is a splendid infor shots supported by your very useful narratives. Well done
Best regards
omid266
(6816) 2020-02-01 20:07
Hello Malgo,
Such a nice shot from this monument and old towers on to
of the hill in desert with beautiful stairway and tourists and people going up,
Nice pov,Thanks for sharing,
Regards,
Omid
Nicou
(193814) 2020-02-01 22:34
Hello
quelle rampe mont ce sommet fantastique avec les personnes cette terre et roche brune ce découpage du sommet superbe image
Bravo et amitié
Nciou
jemaflor
(148124) 2020-02-01 23:14
Hi Malgo,
Interesting photo about this Zoroastrian tower, well photographed with the view of the landscape all around and with these people, tfs.
papagolf21
(152607) 2020-02-01 23:43
Bonjour, chère Malgo,
Une fois encore, une très belle histoire liée à ce monument.
Je suis ravi de découvrir ces images et l'histoire s'y rattachant.
Mille mercis du partage.
Amitiés.
Philippe
Silvio1953
(222779) 2020-02-02 1:06
Ciao cara Malgo, great view of fantastic stairway, excellent perspective, good clarity, splendid light, fine details and wonderful colors, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio
Miguel82
(47110) 2020-02-02 1:15
Hello, the towers of silence are the religious places where the Zoroastrians leave their deceased relatives. The died bodies are eaten by the vultures and other birds. A stairway leads to the summit. The people indicate the huge scale of this sacred site. Fine colors, good sharpness, instructive photo note, regards.
holmertz
(103540) 2020-02-02 1:27
Hello Malgo,
This was an interesting place to visit. The tower has a fascinating design and is dramatically placed on top of the hill. Obviously there is no longer a Zoroastrian community here, or you wouldn't have been able to visit the tower. The similar tower and surrounding area in Bombay are strictly forbidden for outsiders. The WS provide interesting complements, but why the link to the mosque?
Kind regards,
Gert
pierrefonds
(115436) 2020-02-02 4:40
Hi Malgo,
The steps lead my eyes toward the tower which is creating depth. The point of view is showing the details of the Zoroastrians’ Dakhmeh. The presence of the persons is animating the scene. Have a nice day.
Pierre
rychem
(72187) 2020-02-02 7:08
Z dobrego punktu zrobilas zdjecie, schody rzeczywiscie koncza sie w niebie, bardzo ciekawe miejsce i dobre trzy zdjecia
pozdrawiam Ryszard
ikeharel
(114477) 2020-02-02 10:06
Hello Malgo,
My first thought when seeing this, was why people should climb a bare mountain, but reading the note it made sense.
no tree in sight, that's made it so interesting photo.
Good evening,
Ike
*** See my reply to your critique on the two planes.
PiotrF
(55862) 2020-02-02 11:55
Czesc Malgo
Symboliczne te schody do nieba ;)
Ciekawa notatka i iteresujace podejscie do zycia, gdzie wszyscy i tak spotkaja sie po smierci wjednym miejscu... a u nas maluczcy mysla, ze jesli spoczna na Wawelu to cokolwiek to zmieni .
Ciekawa prezentacja, swietne zdjecia w WS
pozdrawiam
Piotr
Tue
(93328) 2020-02-02 12:45
Hello Malgo,
A good photo of the beautiful mountains here and the castle on top of them. I like the mix of smooth shapes and textures of the surface. The people climbing the stairs are well included and add some extra colour.
Lars
lousat
(139914) 2020-02-02 14:33
Ciao Malgo,today you have expanded my knowledge, these complex solutions to greet the dead are really interesting, and even the photos are very beautiful, you took the best to show us the towers, the WS photo reminds me very much of the "knights crash" I had seen in Syria when it could still be visited. Have a nice week and thanks,Luciano
ChrisJ
(172378) 2020-02-02 22:16
Hello Malgo,
Slightly macabre but I guess a bit less confronting than the skeletons on Chios Island Monastery or at Herculaneum/Pompeii! The people add scale. Tfs!
macjake
(98544) 2020-02-02 22:25
Hi Malgo
another great post Malgo, i'm learning a lot from these.
wow, that was such an interesting read...and very disgusting.
Funny how they believe burying a body is bad for the soil, yet its ok to have birds eat your loved one - VERY STRANGE. but that's the beauty of different cultures and different times.
great post! cheers
Craig
jmdias
(116341) 2020-02-09 6:25
malgo
I read about this in Bombay, but I wasn't able to see the tower. amazing stairs and arid place. looks like people are permitted to climb up there.
take care
jorge
mcmtanyel
(69101) 2020-03-01 20:52
Hello Malgo,
The photo is very impressive. After I read the note, I thought the burial (or should I say, non-burial) habits of Zoroastrians were a bit brutal - no respect of the dead. 👍🏻👍🏻
Regards,
MT
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Malgorzata Kopczynska (emka)
(158680)
- Genre: Places
- Medium: Color
- Date Taken: 2019-10-28
- Categories: Castles, Daily Life, Architecture, Ruins
- Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
- Date Submitted: 2020-02-01 17:13