I'm always fascinated by religions and have been intrigued by Zoroastrianism for a long time. I think it's fair to say that one aspect of this fascinating religion that excites the most morbid interest for most people is the way in which the followers of the religion dispose of their dead. Since fire is sacred and earth should not be contaminated by the dead, bodies are laid out to be stripped by vultures in what are known as 'Towers of Silence'.

It's a fascinating concept though I can't help but thinking that a flock of vultures devouring the flesh of your nearest and dearest aren't likely to be all that quiet. Once the birds have picked the bones clean, the bodies were historically interred in rock tombs. Now I think you'll admit that's a bit different from the stiff upper lip of a conventional Church of England burial.

One of my very favourite authors, the Canadian-Indian writer Rohinton Mistry, writes about members of the Parsi community in Mumbai. Parsis are the current day descendents of Zoroastrians who fled Iran - or Persia as it was - hundreds of years ago. Consequently I had read a lot about the Towers of Silence and the rituals associated with the disposal of the dead though most typically in the city of Mumbai.

Morbid reports are often made in Mumbai suggesting that the vultures in the city drop limbs on the balconies of the posh areas of the city near the Towers after stopping for a snack. I’m not convinced it’s true but it’s the kind of myth that make you want to know more so when we visited Iran in 2006 and I learned from our itinerary that Yazd was the main centre of contemporary Zoroastrianism in Iran, I was very excited about finally getting to see what Towers of Silence were really like.

Zoroastrianism in the Desert

Zoroastrians account for about 10% of the local population in Yazd – the highest presence in Iran. Historically Yazd has been a city that hid itself away and was missed by marauding invaders and religious ethnic-cleansers alike. Thanks to this the Zoroastrian community was left to their own devices out in the desert for a very long time and escaped the persecution more typical in other parts of the country. Many of Iran's most architecturally significant ancient sites were associated with the Zoroastrians and came under attack in the early days of Islamic rule, so much so that prime sites which survive today were protected only by local people pretending they had connections to acceptable religious figures. The tomb of Emperor Cyrus the Great, for instance, was protected by telling the Muslim leaders that it was the tomb of Solomon's mother.

Imagination and Reality

In my imagination, I had always supposed that the Towers of Silence would be tall elegant buildings like the towers of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I was – as is often the case – completely wrong. The towers are actually two brown earth and rock mounds, shaped like conical hills. They are completely bare of any vegetation and rise up like ancient cone volcanoes against a flat desert background. In my photo which Ciao have used to illustrate the attraction you can see the female tower in the background.

The towers have not been used since the 1960s when the city's Muslim rulers decreed that having bodies left around to be eaten isn't exactly 'hygienic' so today the dead of the Zoroastrian community in Yazd are buried in concrete lined graves in the small graveyard near the Towers.

Our Visit

We parked the bus and headed off to explore. At the base of the towers were a covered well and few buildings for the family of the dead to prepare and wash the body and to stay during the mourning period. There were a couple of ‘badgirs’ or wind-towers and an ice-house to keep everything cool. We passed these buildings and headed towards the towers and started with a climb of the smaller of the two towers which was for the male bodies. For some of the group it was a bit of a slog but the views from the top were worth the effort – you could see for tens of miles across the desert with the mountains behind.

Inside the round walls at the top of the male Tower we found a circular hollow where the bodies were laid out for the birds and the priest would have performed the rituals for the dead. The bodies would always have been laid out on stones so that they didn't directly touch the earth and contaminate it. They would be placed in a sitting position and the priest who oversaw the process would watch to see which of the bodies' two eyes were plucked out first - apparently it's good luck if the right eye goes before the left but if you're already dead, I can't see that too much luck comes into it.

The ladies Tower was even taller and a few of the group decided to give it a miss. It was a hard walk to the top – especially when decked out in the local clothing - and when we reached the top it took a scramble to climb up through a hole in the wall to get inside. Of course we had our photos taken sitting in the pits. In retrospect, perhaps that was somewhat disrespectful though after a climb like that it was nice to rest for a while.

Moving at a fair pace, you'd need at least an hour to get up and down both towers and have a good look around, take lots of photos and drink in the atmosphere of the place. If you aren't so steady on your feet or struggle with climbs, it's still worth a visit just to understand the reality of Zoroastrian 'funerals'.

After we headed down the women's Tower, we walked over to the cemetery and came across the guardian of the site - an elderly gentleman with a very pretty donkey who we were told always appears to have his photo taken and collect a few donations to help with the upkeep of the immaculate site. I think he also keeps the public toilets tidy and my husband (Mr Peanut Bladder) checked them out and confirmed that everything was hunkydory.

Worth a Visit?

Whilst the Towers were completely different from how I'd imagined they would be, they were every bit as fascinating as I'd expected. Even if you aren't interested in the religion and the ritual they offer a pleasant but challenging walk and fantastic views.