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After visiting the Towers of Silence in  Yazd I wandered by the Zoroastrian Fire Temple. Zoroastrianism is still practised in Iran and may be experiencing a  Revival in Iraq .  A dozen or more people came to worship at the Yazd temple while I was there.  The Fire Temple Grounds (click on photos for enlargements) The Fire Temple Faravahar , shown above on roof of the temple porch ,   is one of the best-known symbols of Zoroastrianism. Below is an Explanation of the symbol:  1. The figure inside is that of an old man, representing wisdom of age. 2. There are two wings in two sides of the picture, which have three main feathers. These main feathers indicate three symbols of "good thoughts, good words, and good deeds," which are at the same time the motive of flight and advancement. 3. The lower part of the Faravahar consists of three parts, representing "bad reflection, bad words and bad deeds" which causes misery and misfortune for human bei...

My main reason for wandering by  Yazd was to visit the two Towers of Silence , located on the southern edge of the city. These towers, known in Persian as Dachmas , were places where Zoroastrians disposed of their dead. I have also visited a Tower of Silence in Uzbekistan . Since I was a Zoroastrian before I transmigrated to this current Vale of Tears this subject is of some interest to me.  When Zoroastrians died their bodies were taken up into a Tower of Silent and exposed to the elements. Vultures and other carrion-eating birds were allowed to strip all of the flesh off the corpses. The bones were then dried and bleached in the sun. In Uzbekistan the bones were places in ossuaries and preserved, but here in Iran the dried bones were placed in a pit in the middle of the Tower of Silent platform where they were allowed to disintegrate into dust.   One of the two Towers of Silence near Yazd (click on photos for enlargments)  Tower of Silence    Tower...

Wandering through the Web the other day I came across a story entitled 8 Best Places to Visit in Mongolia That Are Safe and Beautiful .  First question: Are there some places in Mongolia that are not safe? Second: could these really be the “Best”? Wouldn’t “interesting” or “well-known” have been better word choices? “Best” is pretty subjective. Anyhow, here are the eight places on the list: 8. Sukhbaatar Square.  Well, if you are going to visit Mongolia you will probably pass through Ulaanbaatar, and if you pass through Ulaanbaatar it is pretty hard to miss Sukhbaatar  Square. And I suppose it qualifies as safe and beautiful. OK. Stop for lunch at the Silk Road Restaurant just south of the square. 7. Terelj National Park Almost any trip to Ulaanbaatar usually includes at least a day-trip to Terelj, just north of the city. OK, no argument with that. Be sure to wander by Aryaval Temple .  6. Lake Khövsgöl The Niagra Falls of Mongolia. You got to go there...