In some towns, the streets are so lively that they speak a different language than its people. The scents and sounds mix with the visuals to create a 3 D effect. If Hanoi, Vietnam has been the most sounding city that I have been to, then Yazd has to be the most silent one. In old town Yazd however the silence speaks through its walls, and when I hear the sound of my own footsteps in the cool desert air, I feel like going on and on, be it day or night.
I entered Yazd to a very different view than that I had in my mind. I had seen and read about the city and the images that welcomed me to it were of mostly glitzy streets and wide roads. When I spoke to the guide, he mentioned ‘this all happened 5 years ago, the real Yazd is not here’.
I was keen to find the real Yazd, but it was not until the next afternoon, when I suddenly found myself with my group, entering the maze of old Yazd. At first, I was a little irritated at my guide to take us through this just to kill time, but soon something happened. People stopped talking and we could only hear our footsteps in the afternoon sun, which hid behind the mosque minaret. I realized I was already in the real Yazd.
Hotel with character!
The Kohan Hotel in Yazd is lovely. The rooms simple but the ambiance bowls you over with its central courtyard, where the sound of the running water mingles with the Yazdi evening breeze, and unless it gets really cold, no one wants to go in.
The bazaar of Yazd is as widespread as its maze of lanes. I had been recommended to get lost in the maze and even if it gets a little too overwhelming, not to worry and keep going. I did not do this, perhaps next time when I am back in Yazd. I will walk enough to get lost. I am sure as natural the getting lost would be, so would it also be to find something. The shops in the Bazaar are an interesting mix of old and new. There are young Yazdi’s who have opened boutique shops and they stand next to the traditional ones. Going from one to another feels like passing a generation or perhaps two.
The Parsis of Yazd
Yazd is the gateway to the great salt desert of Iran. It is also where the majority of the Zoroastrians of Iran live. The Parsi’s as we know them in India where the original settlers of Persia which are now Iran. I was expecting to see some of the similarities between the Mumbai Parsi’s and the Parsis in Yazd, however, the only Parsi I saw was in pictures, in the Yazd fire temple. Perhaps in Mumbai, they dress more liberally and are easy to identify by sight.
Yazd remains one of the towns which I would just like to go alone and stay. But then there are at least two such in Iran on the whole. Yazd needs to be enjoyed alone, all by yourself, even if you have a partner along. Walking in Yazd at night has been one of the most calming experiences of my travel life. Even though it was for getting back a few handbags from the bus parked a few blocks away. I remember as I returned with the handbags to give back to my tourists, I thought, I could go back again if anyone wants something more from the bus.
While in Yazd
- Experience the Persian night performance of storytelling and poetry.
- Drink the pomegranate juice and then have one more.
- Climb up the tower of silence.
- Be alone with the walls of the old residential quarter.
- And yes, don’t be scared to get lost in the maze of Old Town Yazd.
