Yazd, located in the deserts of Iran close to the Spice and Silk Roads, is known as the “City of Wind-Catchers”. It is also known for having a large network of qanats, which are underground channels that transfer water from a well to the surface.
To deal with the extremely hot summers, many old buildings in Yazd were also built with magnificent wind-catchers. The name of Yazd is usually reminiscent of artwork. It is an important center of Persian architecture.
There are spectacular tourist attractions in Yazd, including Amir Chakhmaq Complex, Jameh Mosque of Yazd, Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Dowlatabad Garden, and etc.
There are a lot of famous gardens in Iran. One of the nine Iranian gardens registered in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list is Dowlatabad Garden.
It is a historic Persian garden and was built at the order of Mohammad Taghi Khan Bafghi, ruler of Yazd at the end of the Afsharid era. The garden was a spectacular complex and is a priceless reminiscence of Afsharid and Zand Dynasties. It is constructed over 260 years ago for residential and governmental purposes, and now it annually attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists visiting Iran.
There is a 33.8-meter height wind-catcher in Dowlatabad Garden which is the highest identified wind-catcher in Iran. The wind-catcher is octagonal and its structure makes it possible for the tower to easily and quickly guide the wind to the bottom when it is blowing in any direction.
The total area of the garden is approximately 40,000 square meters.
For providing water to the garden, one of the longest qanats in Yazd was delved at a distance of 65 km, from Mehriz. The qanat played a key role in the greenery of the garden.
The garden consists of two rectangular sections; interior part and exterior part. The internal garden was home to kings and important figures. The outer part was the venue for government ceremonies and sports events.
There is a long pool in the shade of the tall cypress trees leading to the main entrance. The pool is running through tall pine trees to reach the architecturally perfect mansion.
After passing the pool, the tallest wind-catcher of the mansion is the first thing which attracts the attention of the tourists.
The mansion inside this garden is a unique octagonal-plan mansion with colorful stain glasses within sash window panes. In addition to a long pool in front of the building, there are some small ones inside the building and a room accommodating a small pool underneath the wind-catcher, which is still the largest in the city.
The interior design of the mansion has also its specific characteristics. The engraved wooden doors of the mansion and the colorful lattice windows of the rooms that pleasantly lead the light inside are eye-catching for many tourists.
The lush garden is surrounded by many fruit trees such as pomegranates, grapes, pine and cypress, and various flowers like roses.
One of the beauties of this garden is the symmetry used in its architecture in which all the designs are matched with a particular skill.
This garden has the same standing as the Fin Garden in Kashan and Shazdeh Garden in Kerman.
The Persian gardens including gardens of Pasargad and Eram in Fars Province, Pahlebanpur and Dowlatabad in Yazd Province, Fin and Chehel Sotun in Isfahan Province, Akbarieh in South Khorasan Province, Abbasabad in Mazandaran Province, Shahzadeh Mahan (also known as Shazdeh) in Kerman Province were registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 19 June 2011 during the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee.
The best time to visit Dowlatabad Garden is in spring and visiting this place will take one hour.
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