Beautiful Iran

Meybod - Medieval Mudbrick Town

The mud brick town of Meybod is situated about 50 km north of Yazd. Recent archeologic excavations suggest that the city's origins date back to the 4th millenium BC.
During the 14th century Meybod became the capital of the Persian Empire for a short time. The city-born Mubariz ad-Din Mohammad and founder of the Muzaffarid dynasty (1314 - 1393) had brought parts of the Iranian highlands under his rule by conquering the cities of Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz and Isfahan and administered them from Meybod.

Narin Qaleh

The oldest foundations of this castle suggest some kind of settlement as early as 4000 BC. Later on the Sassanids (224-642 AD) have erected further buildings on the existing foundations. The majority of the parts of the site still visible today date from the Muzaffarid period. They are built entirely of air-dried mud bricks.
The castle was still in use until the early 20th century, but has since rapidly fallen into ruins, since it is built entirely from air-dried clay bricks. Construction work is currently in progress to renovate at least parts of the ancient castle.

Pigeon Tower

Not far away from the fortress Narin Qaleh there is one of the most beautiful pigeon towers, which resembles more a castle tower with its rich ornaments. Inside there are around 4000 hollows in the walls where the pigeons could nest. The valuable pigeon dung was then collected to be used as fertilizer.

Caravansarai

The beautifully renovated caravanserai dates from the 16th century. The central courtyard is lined with arcades. In the centre of the courtyard you will find the fountain house, where the water was fetched from the depth.
The caravanserai houses a small carpet museum and a traditional restaurant.
In front of the caravanserai there is a water reservoir that is also well worth seeing with its typical dome and four ventilation towers.

Mudbrick tower

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Yakhchal

In the caravanserai you can get the key to the 400-year-old icehouse (yakh-chal) on the other side of the road. A round hole of 4 m depth is dug into the ground under a 10 m high cupola. In winter, people collected the ice and brought it to the icehouse, where it was deposited into the deep hole and covered with straw and cloth. In summer, the ice could be picked up again as needed. Thick mud walls and a sophisticated cooling system ensured that the ice did not melt prematurely.