Chapter 01
The desert taught this city to breathe
Read chapter
Destination · Iran
Yazd, Iran
The desert city that refused to disappear
A mud-brick labyrinth in the heart of Iran where ancient fire still burns, water runs uphill through underground channels, and the rooftops come alive after dark.
10 chapters ahead
Climate
Brutally hot and bone-dry in summer, crystalline and cold in winter — a desert city with no middle ground and no apology for it.
Best season
March through May, when the days are warm rather than punishing and the light on the mud brick turns the whole city the color of the earth it was made from.
Atmosphere
- desert
- arid
- old-world
- spiritual
- walkable
- urban-midsize
- remote
- culinary
- artsy
- early-rising
- intense
The chapters
10 ways to get lost here
Tap any chapter to read
Chapter 02
Zoroaster's fire still burns here
Read chapter
Chapter 03
After dark, the rooftops open
Read chapter
Chapter 04
What the guidebooks leave out
Read chapter
Chapter 05
The old city is made of time
Read chapter
Chapter 06
Sweets built for a desert crossing
Read chapter
Chapter 07
Fire and mourning, same week, same streets
Read chapter
Chapter 08
Silk Road cloth, still woven by hand
Read chapter
Chapter 09
The desert beyond the city is older
Read chapter
Chapter 10
Yazd and Kashgar: the road between them
Read chapter
Keep wandering
You’ve finished Yazd. Where next?
Pull a thread at random, fall into the world map, or step back to the front door for the latest dispatches.