Yazd

Yazd, Iran’s first historical city on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site, also famous as The City of Windcatcher (Shahr-e Badgirha), is located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, 270 km southeast of Isfahan. It is one of the few cities of Iran that have maintained its traditional structure. The earthen architecture of Yazd has escaped the modernization and retained its traditional houses, bazars, hammams, mosques, Zoroastrian temples and etc.

Some historians and geographers believe that, the city was developed by the order of Yazdegerd l, a Sassanid ruler who named the city after himself; Yazdan-Gerd. Later, the name changed to Yazd, which means pure and holy. However, evidences have been found that show there had been people living there before that time.

During the time, Arabs, Turks, Christians and Jews have come to Yazd and been living since. The majority are Muslims, but there is also a great population of Zoroastrians (Yazd and Kerman have the largest population of Zoroastrians in Iran). People of Yazd speak Persian with Yazdi dialect and have retained many old terms and sweet combinations.

Climate

Given that Yazd is located in the middle of Iranian plateau, it is one of the driest cities in Iran with low rainfall and severe evaporation. It is extremely hot in summer and too cold in winter. In such cities, Early-Spring to Middle-Spring and Late-Winter are suitable times to visit, but generally the best times to visit Yazd for ideal weather are from March 5th to May 13th and November 11th to 20th December.

City Center

Masjid Jame St. is the historical part of the city, and around Qiyam and Kashani St. you can find many shops, cafes, restaurants, hotels and etc.

Transportation

Airport: Yazd's international airport is Shahid Ayatollah Sadooghi Airport, which is 10 kilometers away from the city center, including facilities like café, Restaurant, parking lot, shop, bank, flower shop, taxi. It provides domestic flight to Tehran, Mashhad, Kish, Bandar Abbas and international flights to Najaf, Baghdad, Jade and Medina.

Train: Yazd train station is close to Imam Hussein square. It connects Yazd to Tehran, Isfahan and Zahedan. There are also freights trains.

Bus: To get to the Yazd Bus Terminal you have to go to Jahad Sazandegi square and then Shahrak-e Sanati St. The buses of this terminus transfer you to other cities like Isfahan, Tehran, Khorasan, Kerman and Fars.

To transfer inside the city, you can use the transit bus system and you would need transportation cards. It is cheap and as there is Bus Lane for some lines, its faster than taxis.

Taxi: Taxis are more expensive than buses but you can travel faster inside and outside the city with them

Sister cities

There are 3 sister cities for yazd until now including

Homs-Syria

Jakarta-Indonesia

Jászberény-Hungary.