Yazd

Because of generations of adaptations to its desert surroundings, Yazd is known for its Persian architecture. It is nicknamed the "City of Windcatchers" from its many examples. It is also very well known for its Zoroastrian fire temples, ab anbars (cisterns), qanats (underground channels), yakhchals (coolers), Persian handicrafts, handwoven cloth (Persian termeh), silk weaving, Persian cotton candy, and its time-honored confectioneries. Yazd is also known as City of Bicycles, because of its early adoption of cycling, and its boasting the highest number of bicycles per capita in Iran. It is reported that bicycle culture in Iran originated in Yazd as a result of contact with European visitors and tourists in the nineteenth century.