Travel Travel through the dusty desert and suddenly the surrounding mountains aren't the only peaks in sight. First, you see the Yazdi minarets and then the famous badgir towers, a form of medieval air conditioning which funnels any passing gust of wind down into the baking city below. Yazd is so incredible because it doesn't seem natural for a city to thrive in the middle of a desert, yet UNESCO lists it as one of the oldest towns on earth, with an estimated 2000 years of permanent human settlement.

Walk around the maze-like town of old Yazd in early morning solitude. There are still lots of Yazdi people living in the ancient mud houses; take a moment to watch them go about their daily lives, children playing football on the street - this is the best way to get a feel for this dreamy desert city. Find a rooftop café to rest and sip tea (there is a well-known one close to the tourist information point) then pay a visit to Lari House, the old dwelling of a wealthy Yazdi trading family. Go for lunch at the Silk Road Hostel, where delicious shuli (camel meat) and more-ish date shakes will keep you sustained throughout the afternoon. Next up, make your way to a Yazdi gym, known as zurkhaneh, where locals pump iron to ritualistic music and traditional Iranian songs. Leaving the old town, make a stop at the Water Museum where you can find out about the qanat system of irrigation which brought Yazd into existence. Then head out to the Zoroastrian Fire Temple and gaze in awe at the Atash Behram, which has been burning for over 2000 years. Around sunset, take a taxi to the Towers of Silence to be part of a weird and wonderful Zoroastrian ritual.