For Zoroastrians, the desert province of ‘Yazd’ (meaning God), located between two great deserts – Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, holds tremendous significance. From my very first time visit in 1995 to my recent visit this year, I remain amazed at how such an unforgiving arid desert can exude so much spiritual energy. The narrow […]
Audentes Fortuna iuvat (Latin for ‘fortune favours the brave’) aptly sums up the collective sentiment of fifty-one fellow Zoroastrians, who travelled on the wings of faith and determination, with SVG (Social Voluntary Group), to Iran, from 10th to 24th May, 2024. All fifty-one of us had a hearty laugh about the misplaced fears and apprehensions […]
On the eve of 30th January, 2024, groups of Iranian Zoroastrians from various cities including Tehran, Yazd, Shiraz and Kerman came together to celebrate the ancient Sadeh festival. Passed down through generations, this annual mid-winter festivity, which is called Jashn-e-Sadeh by locals, pays homage to light, fire, peace, and friendship. A cultural cornerstone for the […]
I first visited Iran in 1995. On that memorable trip, I met for the first time a visionary and inspirational retired banker – Coovershah Mehta, with whom I instantly bonded and have since remained inseparably close friends, despite his age being much older than mine. Over the years, along with a few other dedicated volunteers, […]
The narrow plain of Yezd or Yazd is surrounded by mountains and deserts. The climate is harsh with extremely dry and hot summers and searingly cold winters. Since the rainfall is scanty, the plain is partly desert — in some places glittering white with salt, in others, covered by shifting, engulfing sands. Kerman and Fars […]
On 8th July, 2023, hundreds of people including local officials, cultural heritage experts, artists, travellers and craftsmen, attended a ceremony held in Tehran, commemorating the sixth anniversary of Yazd’s listing on the UNESCO World Heritage list. A provincial city dependent on trade, Yazd remains one of the few strongholds of the Zoroastrian faith, with Zoroastrians […]
The Iranian Museum of Graphic Design is the first museum in Asia that is dedicated to graphic design. Placed in ‘Arbab Hormoz Mansion’ in Tehranpars, Tehran, the collection of this museum holds everything related to the history of Iranian graphic design. It houses collections of works from famous graphic designers from Iran and abroad from […]
The Pir-e Sabz or Chak-Chak, an annual pilgrimage observed by Zoroastrians who come from all over Iran, and many places around the world as well, was celebrated from the 14th to 18th of June, 2019, at the mountainous fire temple which is embedded in a shallow cave in central Ardakan county, Yazd province – where […]
On 9th July, 2017, the World Heritage Committee voted the historical city of ‘Yazd’, formerly known as ‘Yezd’ in central Iran, as the country’s 22nd World Heritage Site, ranking first in the Middle East and eleventh, worldwide. Announced during the Committee’s 41st session in Krakow (Poland), Yazd is the only UNESCO-listed Iranian city where people […]