Yazd Fire Temple — Zoroastrian Elder
699.00 $
An elderly Zoroastrian man in prayer at the Atash Behram in Yazd, Iran — white prayer cap and sudreh inner garment visible, hands raised in the jasa me urvanim prayer gesture, the temple’s carved stone interior behind him.
Description
The Yazd province of Iran is home to the largest remaining Zoroastrian community in Iran — approximately 20,000 of the world’s 150,000 Zoroastrians maintain active religious practice at the temples, towers of silence, and community institutions of this ancient city. This portrait was made at the Atash Behram fire temple during the morning prayer period, with the temple dastur’s permission, the subject a retired schoolteacher and senior layman of the community in the jasa me urvanim prayer position. His white sudreh inner garment and white prayer cap are the markers of the Zoroastrian faithful; his hands are raised to the position of the prayer gesture at the moment of capture. The carved sandstone and plasterwork of the temple interior provides an architectural background that contextualises the subject’s religious practice within the built tradition of Yazd Zoroastrianism. Shot at f/2.8 on a 50mm prime in available temple light.
