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