Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Khan-e Lariیرا هناخ
(admission US$0.20; 7am-6pm, to 8pm summer)
This 150-year-old building is one of
the best-preserved Qajar-era houses in Yazd. The
badgirs
, traditional doors, stained-glass
windows, elegant archways and alcoves mark it out as one of the city's grandest homes.
The merchant family who built it have long gone, and it's now home to architecture stu-
dents and cultural heritage officers. It's signposted west of Zaiee Sq; see the walking tour
(
Click here
)
for directions.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Alexander's Prisonردنکسا نادنز
(Zaiee Sq; admission US$0.20; 8am-sunset, 8am-1pm & 4pm-sunset summer)
This
15th-century domed school is known as Alexander's Prison because of a reference to this
apparently dastardly place in a Hafez poem. Whether the deep well in the middle of its
courtyard was in fact built by Alexander the Great and used as a dungeon seems doubtful,
no matter what your guide tells you. The building itself is worth a look for the small dis-
play on the old city of Yazd, the clean toilets and the mercifully cool subterranean tea-
house.
The early-11th-century brick
Tomb of the 12 Imams
is almost next door to Alexan-
der's Prison. The once-fine (but now badly deteriorated) inscriptions inside bear the
names of the Shiite Imams (see the boxed text,
Click here
)
, though none are actually bur-
ied here.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Amir Chakhmaq Complexقامخچ ریما هعومجم
(Amir Chakhmaq Sq; admission US$0.30; 7.30am-2.30pm Sat-Thu)
The stunning
three-storey facade of this Hosseinieh makes it one of the largest such structures in Iran.
Its rows of perfectly proportioned sunken alcoves are at their best, and most photogenic,
around sunset when the light softens and the towering exterior is discreetly floodlit. Re-
cent work has added arcades at the side to keep traffic away from the structure. You can
climb to the 1st floor of the structure and look over the square, but higher levels are not
accessible.
Underneath the complex is a
bazaar
where
kababis
specialise in
jigar
(grilled liver). In
front of the Hosseinieh, look out for the huge wooden palm
nakhl,
an important
centrepiece once used for the observance of the Shiites' passionate Ashura commemora-
tions.
RELIGIOUS
Saheb A Zaman Club Zurkhanehنامزلا بحاص هناخ روز
ZURKHANEH
