Yazd, Asteshkadeh Fire Temple, View From The Outside
Located in the center of Iran, Yazd Province (Ostān-e Yazd) has an area of 131,575 km² and a population of approximately 1 million. It is situated at an oasis where the Dasht-e Kavir desert and the Dasht-e Lut desert meet. The city of Yazd itself is sometimes called "the bride of the Kavir" because of its location, in a valley between Shir Kuh, the tallest mountain in the region at 4,075 m above sea level, and Kharaneq. The Ateshkadeh is a Zoroastrian fire temple located in Yazd. The present structure dates back to 1940, but the fire in it is said to have been burning since 470 AD. The original Ateshkadeh was converted into a mosque when the Arabs invaded Iran. Only the Moubad, the Zoroastrian high priest, a descendant of the Magi, has access to the Moubad-e Moubadan, the inner core of the temple where the fire is burning. According to the Zoroastrian faith the fire in the temple is an agent of ritual purity. The temple is in an enclosure in front of a circular water pond.
Size: 6746px × 4502px
Location: Yazd, Iran
Photo credit: © François-Olivier Dommergues / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ali, asteshkadeh, east, fire, imams, ira, iran, iranian, islam, islamic, middle, muslim, persia, persian, province, republic, revolution, road, shi, shia, shias, shiism, shiite, silk, temple, twelve, yazd, zoroastrian, zoroastrianism
