Mareiki, links worked, and images are beautiful!! One had raised questions.
Image 1
This picture shows the entrance of the graveyard for the Zoroasterian people. Just a few meters close to the old towers of silence. When I was there there was a ceremony for the death. I didnt want to make pictures inside the graveyard and i didnt ask for it since I find this very impolite to do. This ceremony looks alike All Soul's Day of the Catholics only on a different time. The ceremony leaders where all dressed in white and sang kind of mantras. Nowadays the Zoroasterian people are allowed by the gouvernement to conduct their relegion in public wich was not the case for many years after the revolution.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/ ... /Yazd1.jpg
from http://www.payvand.com/news/05/oct/1247.html
10/29/05
Zoroastrians mass graveyard in Yazd registered as national monument
Yazd, Oct 29, IRNA-Head of Yazd Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department, Mohammad-Reza Seyed Hosseini said that the Zoroastrians mass graveyard in Yazd province was recently registered as a national monument. According to a report released by the provincial department, this graveyard is one of the most ancient of its kind ever known. "The mass graveyard, in which the Zoroastrians laid the bodies of their lost ones in old days, was endowed to the cause. Therefore, it was taken by Zoroaster's disciples as a sacred site.
"Up to a half century ago, according to the Zoroastrian rituals, dead bodies were laid at the site in order to be eaten by vultures.
"The bones left over from the corpses after being torn apart by vultures were then laid in a well situated in the middle of the mass graveyard," he added. He noted that afterwards, the interior of the mass graveyard was cleaned and disinfected in a ceremony to be reused.
Other mass graveyards in Yazd province include Cham graveyard in Taft, Firouzabad graveyard in Sadough and Ardakan graveyard.
"Unlike other provincial mass graveyards, this one is quite small and its entrance is located to the west instead of the east as is common, because of the limited space. The Zoroastrians believe that Zoroaster was born in Takht-e Soleyman in West Azarbaijan in 3,600 years BC.
According to them, at the age of 30, he was appointed as prophet by Ahuramazda to invite the people to righteousness. He was killed by Turbratour at the age of 77, as he was praying along with a number of his disciples at Balkh Fire Temple. His burial place is said to be at the Afghan city of Mazar-i Sharif. About 5,000 individuals out of the 30,000 Zoroastrians residing in Iran live in the provincial cities of Yazd, Taft and Ardakan.
Image No 3 - burning fire
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/ ... ngFire.jpg
This is only photo (on the contrary to others) which looked to me completely weird / odd. I don't think taking pictures late in the evening (if it was the case) or using expired Kodak would produce such effect. It's like combined image out of 2 to say the least. Where is the bottom half of their bodies? Even if it's a reflection in the mirror, it should be seen. And this strange shadowy figure in front of the boy in the right... What was he/she? doing? If that person performs a sacred ceremony, that should be Zoroastrian priest. Why figure is so shadowy?
and reflection of the door in the right... This image looks as if it has been havily altered. Only connection coming to my mind is a church in Rome on the bank of Tiber with small museum of appearances of devils and strange creatures where similar photos are displayed.
There is a fire burning in Yazd of wich they say it already burns for ages and ages. They Iraninans made a sophisticated place of this fire: they have build a whole building around it
If this fire is burning for ages many artworks on the walls seen all around the sacred fireplace should bear likewise sacred messages.
Did you take any close-up pictures of them? If so, could you please post them? That would be nice. Anyway, who can explain what they were set to convey?
Image 4
This is the symbol of Ahura Mazda on top of the building where the fire is burning. There are many interpretations of this symbol and seen this symbol in a new light of secret History it is even more nteresting.This symbol is also to see on top of the huge pillars in Perspolis ( Shiraz)
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/ ... aMazda.jpg
Laura mentioned Ahura Mazda in Secret History p.500. "He is the lord of light and his abode is on the mountaintop glowing with golden light".
Did you see if somewhere on the opposite side of the buiding other figure (Ahriman) if duality was manifested?
Several questions from a round idiot to anybody less idiot and more knowledgable, may be you know:
what these 3 inscriptions in Arabic say, and what do they mean?
What two golden rings mean: one he firmly holds and another he is encircled?
3rows x 9 - triple total destruction/ anihilation? or it's just occidental number? These don't seem to be 9 thriads.
This I found in Goldsmith's "Ancient Pagan symbols"
From earliest times primitive man appears to have grasped the idea of the three-fold nature of the universe-the divine, the human, the natural world- and that he himself was the image or mirror of the macrocosm, composed of three things-body, mind, soul or spirit. The idea of "three in one" seems to have been a part of man's consciousness as far back as tradition takes us. [...] In the Zoroastrian triad Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) is the sun-or power of light, life, heaven, good, Ahrimanes is the power of darkness, evil, death, the earth, matter; and Mithra is the god of sunlight, the power of Truth, the Mediator between heaven and earth.
Figure of Ahura Mazda clealy has an avian tail, so is it like avian nature versus reptilian?
and does later Bluebeard have some relevance to beard of Ahura Mazda?
Sorry for all these stupid questions; any good read on Tigris/ Euphrates myhology/symbolism would definitely help me here. In Fraser's "Golden Bough" Ahura Mazda isn't mentioned.
more photos of the place at:
http://www.skiouros.net/voyages/2001/iran/ir2001_404.en.html
Image No 5:
At the top of the hills of the towers of silence there is a beautiful view over Yazd and especialy over the little buildings in front of these huge towers.
The whole place still belongs to the Zoroasterians as they keep the place in shape to remember their ancient times.
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j128/ ... ilence.jpg
Great picture. It looks like the whole site is a giant geometric figure.
http://www.skiouros.net/voyages/2001/iran/
http://persia.org/imagemap/yazd.html
from http://www.yazd.com/:
There are many mosques and religious sites that were built hundreds of years ago and although they have been repaired, they have not been reconstructed.
The most important and historic of these sites are:
- The Jaame'e Mosque ( built in the 6th century; its picture is on the 200 rials notes I believe.)
- The Seyed Roknaddin Mausoleum ( built in the 8th century by Amir Roknaddin Mohammad Ghazi )
- The Amir Chaghmagh's Mosque, BAzAr and Mausoleum ( built in the early 8th century ); They were built by FAtemeh KhAtoon, the wife of Amir Chaghmagh, then governor of Yazd. The minarets are on top of the bazaar. Since Yazd had been a very important commerce center and many had to pass Yazd in the so called silk road, they used to put lights on top of the minarets, so that the travelers could locate the city at dark.
- The Rig (Sand) Mosque; built in 730 H. by Amir Moinoddin Ashraf.
the Zoroastrian Sites:
There is a large community of Zoroastrians living in Yazd. Many Zoroastrians come to Yazd every year for their pilgrimage. Some of the sites are as follows:
- The Fire Temple ( Atashkadeh ); this is an old temple containing the fire which is believed to have been burning for over 1100 years.
There is a Zoroastrian clergy ( moobed ) who takes care of maintaining and keeping the fire. His mouth is covered with a white cloth so that his
exhale is not directed toward the sacred fire.
- Tower of Silence; although not used now, Zoroastrians used to place their dead in the tower of silence. They are usually located on top of
mountains. There are a total of 5 such towers in Iran. Two in Yazd, two in Kerman and one in Tehran. One of the two in Yazd can be observed in the
north and the other in the south of the city. The Zoroastrians' holy book, Avesta, says that the dead is not to come in contact with the sand (khAk).
After the Zoroastrians were forbidden this practice, they left their dead on the mountains and buried them with stones. I know that they bury their dead
under the ground now but I have heard that they are buried in the sitting position and the graves are made of cement and cement blocks are also placed
on top before the sand fills the grave up. In this case, the AhurAmazdA's words are respected.
- Chak-chak ( meaning drop by drop ); This is a very sacred place to Zoroastrians. Located in an isolated mountainous area, it hosts thousands
of Zoroastrians from all over the world annually in their pilgrimage. It is the place where one of the religious figures, HayAt bAnoo, was refuged
and also buried.
On sott forum this info has been posted (I saved info but not who posted it, sorry):
http://www.theegyptianchronicles.com/ANEW/KISH.html
American occupational forces deliberately damaged the oldest Iraq archeological site KIsh from Sumerian period.
Iraq is demanding that the US forces vacate the 5,000-year-old archeological site.
Moreover, the Iraqi Minister said in a statement that the U.S. army was banning anyone from entering this decades-old site to assess the damage, which hasn't been specified. Kish is one of the world's oldest cities and site of the earliest evidence of wheeled transport. Kish (Uhaymir), Tall al-Ahmar so called the "Red Mound" - because of its ziggurat's red bricks), was one of the twelve city-states of ancient Sumer civilization, located on an ancient branch of the Euphrates river 12.9 km east of Babylon and 12 mi (19 km) east of the modern city of Hillah, Iraq. In this city lived the famous and magnificent Akkadian King Sargon of 'aqqad (Agade), founder of the very first Empire in history. [...] The U.S. destructive military presence has badly damaged one of the marvels of Ancient Mesopotamia.
So these well may be one of the last photos of Yazd either if Bushies masters decide to bring peace and democracy to Iran.
Why US are so attracted to intentionally destroy the most ancient cites which clearly pose no military threat to US "homeland security"?
Sorry for message. It's only place where being a round iDIOt is not considered a crime (not a square one yet)
Just got Laura's books, took Secret History and it's washing brains out, if any. Literally.