Ateshkadeh

Southeastern Iran


The buildings are mostly new and the 'eternal fire' in a giant central chalice smoulders rather than flares, but if you've never visited a working Zoroastrian temple before, the experience is likely to prove interesting. Remove your shoes and don one of the white skull-cap hats (in the cabinet beside the door; for both men and women) before entering the main temple.

The museum (IR100,000), in a separate 2002 building, has a collection of photos, bowls and tools that won't mean much to most casual visitors.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southeastern Iran attractions

1. Moshtari-ye Moshtaq Ali Shah

0.23 MILES

With prominent blue-and-white-tiled roofs dating from the late Qajar period, this attractive mausoleum is the last resting place of several Kerman…

2. Masjed-e Jameh

0.35 MILES

The Masjed-e Jameh's four lofty iwans originally date from 1349, though there was extensive modernisation during the Safavid and later periods. Instead of…

3. Qaleh Dokhtar

0.55 MILES

On dun-coloured ridges at the eastern edge of town rise the lumpy outlines of two timeless mud-fortress ruins. This area would have been Kerman's most…

4. Bazar-e Sartasari

0.62 MILES

Kerman’s magnificent 'Sartasari' ('end-to-end') Bazaar is one of the oldest and most memorable trading centres in Iran. Its main thoroughfare stretches…

5. Bazar-e Zargaran

0.7 MILES

The gold bazaar is tucked away to the northeast of Ganj Ali Khan Sq. In the middle of its countless jewellery shops is a small square where you'll come…

6. Masjed-e Ganj Ali Khan

0.71 MILES

With an entrance hidden away in the northeastern corner of Ganj Ali Khan Sq, this tiny but lavishly decorated mosque was once the private place of worship…

7. Masjed-e Imam

0.71 MILES

The expansive Imam Mosque courtyard covers 6000sqm with tiled iwans (barrel-vaulted halls) on three sides. But it's the main southwest iwan that's the…

8. Zurabkhane

0.74 MILES

A collection of ancient coins, displayed in a half-dark domed chamber, might be of interest to numismatists but at foreigner prices it seems overpriced …