On the southern outskirts of Yazd, there are two hilltop circular building, known as Dakhmeh-ye-Zartushtioon or Towers of Silence.

In accordance with Zoroastrian beliefs about the purity of the earth, dead bodies were not buried but left in these uncovered stone towers so that the vultures could pick up the bones clean. A priest would sit with the bodies, which were placed in a sitting position, and watch to see which eye the vultures plucked out first : The right eye and the soul faced a good future, the left and the future looked grim. Such towers have not been used since the 60s.

At the foot of the hill are several other disuses Zoroastrian buildings, including a defunct well, a water cistern and lavatory.


Address : Dakhmeh-ye-Zartushtioon

 

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