History and Historical Attractions
In the course of history due to its distance from important capitals and its harsh natural surrounding, Yazd remained immune to major troops' movements and destruction from wars, therefore it kept many of its traditions, city forms and architecture until recent times.
Yazd hails from an ancient history. As an example, Tehran University and Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization have teamed up with France's CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) to carry out archeological studies in Yazd province as part of a project aiming at preparing archeological plans of the area from the Mesolithic era.
During the invasion of Genghis Khan in the early 13th century, Yazd became a safehaven and home for many artists, intellectuals, and scientists fleeing their war ravaged cities across Persia.
Yazd was visited by Marco Polo in 1272 A.D, who described it as a good and noble city and remarked its silk production industry. Isolated from any approach by a huge tract of monotonous desert, the vibrancy of Yazd often comes as a surprise.
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The 800 year old Masjed-i Jame' mosque of Yazd has one of the tallest minarets among Persian mosques.
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A medieval citadel in Maybod, Yazd province.
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A traditional pigeonhouse in Meybod, Yazd.
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Zoroastrians' Tower of Silence.
Read more about this topic: Yazd Province
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“Perhaps universal history is the history of the diverse intonation of some metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“By contrast with history, evolution is an unconscious process. Another, and perhaps a better way of putting it would be to say that evolution is a natural process, history a human one.... Insofar as we treat man as a part of nature—for instance in a biological survey of evolution—we are precisely not treating him as a historical being. As a historically developing being, he is set over against nature, both as a knower and as a doer.”
—Owen Barfield (b. 1898)
“The world,—this shadow of the soul, or other me, lies wide around. Its attractions are the keys which unlock my thoughts and make me acquainted with myself. I run eagerly into this resounding tumult. I grasp the hands of those next to me, and take my place in the ring to suffer and to work, taught by an instinct, that so shall the dumb abyss be vocal with speech.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)