548 



The National Geographic Magazine 



The Tower of Silence and Fire Temple at Uran 



The photograph was taken from a rock in the cliffs of the overhanging mountains by an 

 artist especially sent out by Messrs Underwood & Underwood, of New York. The Tower has 

 been but recently dedicated, and hence the grounds are yet unimproved. The wall, capped 

 with broken glass, that surrounds the grounds is noticeably in the foreground. The Tower is 

 not a large one. The inclined pathway to the door that admits the corpse and pall-bearers is 

 very distinctly shown. The oblong white arched-roofed building to the right, near a targola 

 palm, is a small Fire Temple, where the sacred fire is ever burning, and is used by the mourners 

 for prayers. 



knot at the ends, means that they are 

 now joined and made one. The object 

 of using raw twist, and of its being put 

 round them seven times, is to show that 

 while raw twist itself can be very easily 

 broken, when it is strung round seven 

 times and twined into one it forms so 

 strong a band that it cannot be broken 

 by ordinary strength, thus implying that 



the love and affection of the husband and 

 wife for each other should be so strong 

 that nothing can undo it. 



The reason for the twist being strung 

 round seven times is because this num- 

 ber is held to be very auspicious among 

 the Parsees, there having been seven 

 archangels, seven heavens, and seven 

 continents known to the ancient Per- 



