Promoted as a ‘don’t miss’ destination by almost all travel agencies in the region, the city of Yazd has twice been in the news in 2017. In July it was declared as a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Later in the year, an article in the Tehran Times of December 27 stated that the disused dakhmas serve as tourist attractions in the city of Yazd. "Towers of Silence in central Iran are not any more dedicated to bones of the dead to get cleaned by vultures. In modern era, they are just peaceful destinations for domestic and foreign travelers,” stated the article titled: "Towers of silence where antiquity meets modernity.” Describing the ancient practice of dakhmenashini, the report states that dakhmas are located "on top of lonely, barren hilltops in the southern outskirts of Yazd, itself a major touristic city, which has long been a center of Zoroastrianism in the country.”
Disused dakhma in Yazd: of interest to tourists Photo: Wikipedia
Located on a plateau in Iran, Yazd is known for its centuries old underground water system, Persian architecture and Zoroastrian temples. As stated in the news report, "At the foot of the hills stand several abandoned buildings, including a dried-up well and a cistern. Nearby lies a modern Zoroastrian cemetery.” While those who are fit climb up the incline on foot, others use two or four wheelers for a peek into the inside of the dakhmas and a vista of Yazd and its adjoining landscape. An hour before sunset is recommended as the ideal time to go up one of the hills.
"The oasis city of Yazd is wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain ringed by mountains. Its historical structure enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras. With its winding lanes, forest of badgirs (wind catchers), mud brick houses, atmospheric alleyways and centuries of history, Yazd is a delightful place to stay,” according to the article.
Impressions of overseas visitors posted on TripAdvisor, one of the popular travel websites, have been appended to the article. As commented a Polish visitor: "Don’t miss the whole stories of this place as it makes it so unique and special… There is very strong energy there. Going up to one of the Towers is enough… This place is (around) 20 minutes’ drive from the city center.” There is misinformation too in circulation as gathered from a comment by a New York visitor: "This place was used to dispose of the dead. A high priest would chop the pieces of the bodies to be fed to the birds…”
As Mobed Mehraban Firouzgary had earlier clarified for Parsiana, "In Yazd there used to be three active dakhmas.” As per his knowledge, the last dakhma to be sealed in Iran was in village Cham around 1975.