Dodgah

Dodgah or Tower of Silence is the place of the traditional Zoroastrian burial practice. Because they believe in the sacredness of their 4 elements: air, water,before and soil, they will not contaminate soil with dead bodies that are traditionally thought to contain demons. So, they practiced sky burials: the corpse is laid atop the tower for vultures to remove the flesh.
The 1st picture is a long view of the site. The old Tower is to the left in the 1st picture and shown in the 2nd. The newer Tower is in the center of the 1st picture and in the 3rd.
The 4th picture is the top of the newer Tower. Bodies were placed here until the bones were cleaned. Then the bones were crushed, placed in the hole in the center and treated with chemicals to dissolve the bones so that they leached away.
Another belief is that the spirit remains around the body for 3 days. So those grieving the death would stay here for those 3 days. The remaining pictures show the facilities provided for the mourners. Pictures 5&6 show something of the layout of buildings where mourners stay with the 7th giving a better look at one of them. The last picture is the dome of a cistern that provides water for the mourners. The wind towers help keep the water fresh by providing ventilation.Läs mer