Atashkadeh (Fire Temple)

The Fire Temple is the most sacred Zoroastrian site in Iran still in active use. Built in 1934 in a style that blends Art Deco with traditional Iranian architecture, the temple houses the sacred flame that Zoroastrians believe has burned continuously for over fifteen hundred years. The flame arrived in Yazd in 1940 after being moved multiple times to keep it safe from religious upheaval.

Non-Zoroastrians are welcome to visit the temple and view the flame through a glass-fronted chamber. The small museum adjacent to the fire room has explanatory panels on Zoroastrian beliefs and history in Iran. The building's hilltop location gives good views over the old city. Yazd remains one of the main centres of Zoroastrianism in the world, and the community here is welcoming of respectful visitors.

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The flame burning inside the Atashkadeh is said to have been lit in 470 CE and has never been extinguished — it was moved several times over the centuries to protect it from conquest and religious persecution before arriving in Yazd in 1940. Visitors can see it through a glass panel; touching the flame or its vessel is not permitted.