Flame of Zoroaster, Yazd

Book Excerpt

... our first stop was the Zoroastrian Fire Temple, an oddly ordinary place in a utterly nondescript section of Yazd. More than anything it reminded me of the Jewish area we had visited back in Hamedan, a world unto itself, surrounded by a sea of Islam.

Zoroastrianism is often mistaken for a fire-worshipping religion because its adherents use flame as their symbol (like Christians use a cross). Instead fire is used because it’s the most respected of the traditional elements in Zoroastrianism – warming homes and cooking food. The religion is monotheistic, one of the world’s first, and believes in a final judgment day. The flame we saw in the Temple had been kept burning continuously for 1600 years, even when transferred from one temple to another. Keeping this fire burning inside its glass enclosure was one of the most important jobs of the local priests and served as the primary draw for Zoroastrian pilgrims coming from around the world.

Walking through the Temple and small complex took all of 10 minutes, and half of that was simply because there was so little to see I walked really, really slow. A quick picture outside on the empty steps before heading inside the nearly-empty temple. Other than a couple of priests talking to some pilgrims Professor and I were the only ones about. We looked at the flame for a bit (stick a torch in your yard and look at it through a window and you’ve lived the experience) then headed back to the car. ...