Old City of Meybod

The History of Meybod

There are several myths and narrations about the history and name of the city, Meybod. According to a myth, the historic city of Meybod was built at the time of Keyumars, in Ferdowsi Shahnameh he appears as the first king of the world. Another narration has attributed the early construction of the city of Meybod to Mahbood, one of Yazdegerd's captains and famous lieutenant colonel of the times of Kavadh and Anushiruwan (Khosrow I), when it is considered the peak of the flourishing and development of the Iranian cities. It is believed that Meybod was also created and expanded at that time. Another narration says the word Meybod (Meybath) comes from the Middle Persian, it has been mentioned many times in the historical and geographical documents of the early pre-Islamic centuries.
The last narration attributes the city to a king named Mobad who entitled the city Mobad Gerd. However, gradually Gerd was deleted from the end of it and converted Meybod.

Meybod was a prestigious city with a special political status in the late Sassanid and Mongol invasions. A clear evidence supporting this claim is the coins minted in Meybod in that time, because among one hundred and eleven towns identified in pre-Islamic Iran, only a few had the conditions and permission to mint the coin and Meybod was one of them.

Historic city of Meybod located in Yazd province is one of the earliest settlements in Iran. With its seven-thousand-year history, the city presents a historic and valuable texture. Now, the whole texture has been nationalized and is among the oldest cities in the world. The most prominent feature of urbanization and the old age of Meybod is the stronghold of Narin Castle and its defense facilities.
The city of Meybod is the second urban and commercial center of Yazd province, which once was located along the Sea of Saveh and its inhabitants transported through the lake. Due to the climatic changes and the decrease in surface water in the region, clever and hard-working people got to learn about the water-discovering skills and tunnel digging techniques and they invented Qanat.
Meybod as a several thousand-year-old city, is one of the rare examples of the ancient cities of Iran. You can still observe many of the old urban elements, such as the ancient monuments and its remnants, ruins, ancient fortresses, shrines, ancient roads, exteriors and efforts for city expansion.

The design and the basic plan of Meybod were conducted very carefully according to the principles of city planning of the Sassanid. The main plan of the city had been in rectangular shape with main axes surrounded by a deep moat and a high fence. In that time, the people believed that the universe had 4 parts, and the construction of cities should be in a way that its doors would open to the four corners of the world (quadrilateral), Meybod was built exactly the same. The streets and highways all started and ended to a gate, four gates at the four corners of the city.

The plan of the ancient city of Meybod is such that Sharistan (main town) is located in the center of the city fort and is considered the oldest core of the city. The core includes the Jameh Mosque, the Old Fort, Narin Castle, and three old regions. The globalization of old city of Meybod will be a major step that is taking place by the city official’s efforts.
In the desert city of Meybod, the mud buildings, green trees and blue sky make a fantastic harmony and create a colorful scene that catches the eyes of each viewer and provides a mystical state enjoying the game of color and light.
About 800 hectares of old city of Meybod was registered as national monuments in 2005.

Sightseeing the historic city of Meybod

The historic city of Meybod dating back to 7000 years ago and its 800-hectare texture have been introduced as the first tourism city in Iran.
Narin Castle of Meybod
About the history of Narin Castle in Meybod, there is a narration saying that Solomon the Prophet created Narin Castle to hide his valuable things and treasure. Images on a piece of pottery found in this place is similar to those images that discovered from the third millennium BC of the Elamites.

Narin Castle is a castle in Meybod dating back to 737 AD. Muhammad ibn Muzaffar, one of the kings of Muzaffarids, with the intention of discovering a great treasure in Yazd, visited Meybod and there he commanded to restore the castle and dig a deep moat around it.
This fortress in the early centuries of Islamic was of a great significance and importance and has been invincible to the enemies. From the top of the castle, it is possible to well cover the whole city of Meybod. In 1976, Narin Castle of Meybod has been listed in the National Iranian Monuments with registration number 1086.

Pigeon tower

Pigeon Tower of Meybod is one of the most beautiful pigeon towers in Iran which dates back to the Qajar era. The old tower has a height of 8 meters and its genuine cylindrical style has four thousand nesting pigeons, which is also known as a dormitory or pigeon house.
pigeon towers were built to collect pigeon dung and other birds’ droppings for agricultural use and many industrial uses including tanning industry, leather and gunpowder manufacturing. These pigeon towers have been astonishing because of their excellent designs in attracting pigeons and creating a safe habitat for them.

Shah Abbasi Caravanserai

Shah Abbasi Caravanserai is one of the 1,000 caravanserai built by Shah Abbas I Safavid following the policy of expanding roads and security of trade. Ribat Meybod is one of the most complete brick caravansaries with the well-known pattern of 4-iwan, which played the important role of a resting station on the east-west routes of Iran.
This caravanserai consists of outer porches, sabat, an entrance vestibule, a pool, a moonlight room, four beautiful vineyards, a central courtyard and eastern and western spaces, and a total of one hundred porches, rooms, and stoves for Commercial and pilgrimage travelers.

Pony express of Meybod ( Chaparkhaneh )

Chaparkhaneh dates back to the Qajar era and is one of the major centers of post office and old pony express. It neighbors the Shah Abbasi Caravanserai of Meybod.
The pony express had a duty to maintain, treat horses and fresh messengers to send and swap letters and important bills as fast as possible. That is why they have made them like castles and defensive fortresses. This monument was registered on August 19, 2000 with the registration number 2767 as one of the national Iranian monuments.

Handicrafts of Meybod

The main economic revenue of the city of Maybod is based on its handicraft. The most important of these crafts are Zilu, Karbas, Motabi, Pottery, Tile, Ceramic, Carpet and Iron. Also, several tile and ceramic factories have made Meybod the thriving industrial hub in Iran.

Art of Zilu Weaving in Meybod

The origin of the art of Ziloo Weaving in Yazd province, was a place called Bashnighan in Meybod, then this craft got popularity in other places. Zilu is one of the oldest handmade and cheap products, woven from cotton. Since cotton has no dust particles and does not harm the respiratory health of the weaver and its consumer, it is called health carpet. Due to its cotton fiber, Zilu has a longer durability than wool carpets; however, it does not come in a wide range of colors. Of course, home-made Zilus are woven with the use of the natural color of some desert plants and trees such as Rubia plant, walnut, etc. The main plot and design used in the Zilu texture is Zolfak with traditional design and patterns that were woven from the ancient times for mosques and religious sites inside and outside Iran.
Recently, the Presidential Mosque in Tehran has been covered by a great zilu donated by a Zilu weaver from Yazd.

There are some other monuments in Meybod in addition to the historic and beautiful places mentioned above such as Khadijeh Khatoon shrine, Mazraeh-ye Kalantar Village, Yakhchal, Jame Mosque, Boruni House, Salar House, Vakil House, Haj Malek House, Golshan House, Barjin Castle, Mehrjard castle, Mahmoud Abad Tower, Zilu Museum, Museum of Anthropology, Kolar Ab anbar, Dosangi Water Mill, etc.
To book a sightseeing tour to Old City of Meybod, please contact Raadina Support.