Jump to content

Yazd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Roozbeh (talk | contribs) at 10:36, 21 July 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Map of Iran and surrounding lands, showing location of Yazd
Map of Iran and surrounding lands, showing location of Yazd

Yazd or Yezd (یزد), is one of the most ancient & historical cities of Iran. The city is located some 175 miles southeast of Isfahan, at 31.92° North, 54.37° East. As of 2000 it had a population of about 350,000 people. The city is the capital of Iran's Yazd province.

The city is ancient, known to date back to the 31st century BC. It was anciently known as Ysatis. Accoriding to UNESCO, Yazd is second city in the world constructed using adobe. Yazd was settled on an oasis on a sandy plain.

The old part of town is ringed by a tall mud-brick wall dating back to the 5th century.

Yazd was long a center of Zoroastrian culture, and has a temple of that religion in continuous use for over a millennium, and Iran's largest population of Zoroastrianists.

Marco Polo wrote an acount of visiting the city in 1272.

The University of Yazd was established here in 1988.