Persia past and present; a book of travel and research, with more than two hundred illustrations and a map . a welcome contrast to thebrown and parched aspect of all around. Yezd is a city of considerable antiquity, since its nameapparently occurs, under the form of Tcrarti^at Qlsatichai), inPtolemys Greek geography, where it is named among the fewtowns of the desert of Carmania.^ According to Persiantradition, moreover, it must have been known in Alexanderstime, having been used by the victorious invader as a placeof confinement for his prisoners of war.^ The common viewassociates the name Ye
Persia past and present; a book of travel and research, with more than two hundred illustrations and a map . a welcome contrast to thebrown and parched aspect of all around. Yezd is a city of considerable antiquity, since its nameapparently occurs, under the form of Tcrarti^at Qlsatichai), inPtolemys Greek geography, where it is named among the fewtowns of the desert of Carmania.^ According to Persiantradition, moreover, it must have been known in Alexanderstime, having been used by the victorious invader as a placeof confinement for his prisoners of war.^ The common viewassociates the name Yezd, or Yazd, with Yazdagard I ( 399-420), father of Bahram Gor, probably as the rebuilder ratherthan the original founder.^ 1 Ptolemy, Geography, 6. 6. 2. This see Sykes, Ten Thousand Miles inname is not to be confused withlstakhr Persia, pp. 419-420. (Curzon, Persia, 2. 239). s jj-q,. remarks on the name of Yezd 2 On this latter point (drawn from and Kathah, see note i at the end ofHafiz) and for the common view re- this chapter, p. 351. garding Yezd (Yazd) and Yazdagard, iS ^ -. *? View of Yezo. A Street in Yezd, showing a Wind-Tower THE CITY OF YEZD 349 During the earlier years of Mohammedan rule Yezd becamea place of refuge and stronghold for the Zoroastrian Gabars,probably because of its remote situation in the desert, althoughit was never out of touch with the rest of Persia. The firstEuropean known to have visited it was Marco Polo in 1272,who calls it the good and noble city of Yasdi. i The Italianfriar Odoric of Pordenone, who came here about fifty yearslater than Marco, speaks of the town as Geth, Gest, orlest,^ and Josafa Barbaro, the Venetian (1474), writes thename as -les or Jex.^ Notwithstanding the earlier and later importance of thecity, Yezd has little to offer in the way of sight-seeing, and itcertainly cannot lay any claim to natural beauty. One ridesfor hours through narrow winding streets, with nothing to seebut walls of clay, the backs of houses, a str
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