Any summer visitor to Yazd can hardly fail to appreciate the needed for cool air and for the proliferation of badgirs (windtowers), constructed to  fulfil the need. These ancient systems of natural air-conditioning, which can also seen in the towns and villages of the Persian Gulf coast, are designed to catch even the lightest breeze and direct it to the rooms below.

All about the simplest towers, which ranges from standard two-sided models to more elaborate six-sided variety, consist of at least for parts : the body or trunk that contains the shafts; air shelves that are used to catch some of the hot air and prevent it from entering the house; flaps which redirect the circulation of the wind; and the rood covering. The currents that enter the house do so above a pool of cool water, thereby cooling the air, while the warm air continues its circular path, redirected upward through a different shaft.
If you stand directly beneath a badgir, the air is appreciably cooler, and while not quite as cold as modern air-con, it's a whole lot healthier.



 

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