Taft, the city of gardens and ancient rituals.

The ancient city of Taft with numerous old adobe monuments, dense gardens with pomegranate, plum, peach and grape trees and pleasant climate is located at an altitude of 1560 meters, on the foothills of Shirkooh Mount, in the west of Yazd province. According to Mohammad Bastani- Parizi, an Iranian writer and historian, the word Taft attributes to the desert’s hot sunshine.

The historical town of Taft and the flourishing villages around are home to a major Zoroastrian community with an amusing cultural and historical background. The Zoroastrians of Taft hold different symbolic ceremonies and one of them is called “Sadeh”, which is the ritual of respecting the fire in the middle of winter.

Another symbolic ritual of Taft is Nakhl-Gardani, held by the Muslims of this town. Nakhl-Gardani is a religious ritual in memory of Imam Hussein, held on Ashura day. The local men carry a giant and heavy wooden object named Nakhl and move it all around the city. The Nakhl-Gardani ritual is so stirring in Taft and the Nakhl of this city, which has been used for 600 years on Ashura mourning days, is the biggest one in Iran.

The people of Taft carrying the giant Nakhl on Ashura day.

Nartitee (meaning pomegranate blossom) is an ecolodge in Taft, founded by a young Zoroastrian couple. Nartitee is a restored adobe house in the middle of a pomegranate garden and its cozy rooms are decorated with old-style carpets and closets. The guests of Nartitee ecolodge walk through the narrow alleys and lovely gardens of Taft, meet the Zoroastrians and get acquainted with their unique culture and beliefs.

Throughout the tours of Yazd you can discover different towns and attractions of ancient Yazd, like Taft, Kharanagh, Chak-Chak and Zenodin and discover the distinctive culture of the Yazdi people.

The beautiful gardens of Taft.

Nartitee ecolodge in Taft.