Chaharshanbeh Soori; the Iranian festival of fire.

“Let your red color be mine, and take back my paleness!” This is the translation of the poetic quote (Zardi- e man az to, Sorkhi- e to az man), that has been sung by the Iranians on the night of “Chaharshanbeh Soori”, while jumping over the bonfire. Being held since ancient times, Chaharshanbeh soori is also called the festival of fire or the Wednesday eve ceremony.

Chaharshanbeh Soori

The tower of silence in Yazd.

Yazd has been the main city where the Zoroastrians lived after Islam conquered Iran. Zoroastrians believed in the sacredness of fire, water, wind and soil and they kept their environment so clean to avoid the impurity of the natural elements. Therefore they kept the dead bodies, which were considered impure, away from the soil. They constructed a round walled area covered with rocks on the top of a conical hill out of the city and measured the wind direction to prevent any impurity to the city and the soil. This area was divided into three parts for men, women and children.

Top of the Tower of Silence.