Stone is the main building material used in fire temples. Another issue is the prohibition of sunlight on fire, and for this reason, Zoroastrians build fire temples in such a way that the fire is in a dark place on a fireplace. In the fire temples of Iran, the fire was in a completely closed space, but in India, Zoroastrians can only worship fire from behind lattice walls. Only priests are allowed to take care of the fire and ordinary people do not have the right to enter the fire. In Zoroastrian texts, the blowing on fire is highly condemned, and the worshiper should use a kind of mouthpiece when praying so that his breath does not contaminate the fire. Since fire is a sacred element for the Zoroastrians, its maintenance and care required special conditions. Some fire temples have only a quadrangular section as described, but some of the more important types, such as the Char Qapi fire temple in Qasr-e Shirin, also had all around corridors and enclosed spaces which have collapsed over time, however, traces of it can be seen in some parts. There are different types of fire temples, but their basis and architectural plan of the building are similar to each other. The temple structure is open from four sides and the sacred fire was kept under the dome, but little by little, this place of fire has moved away from the middle of the building … so that in today’s fire temples, the fire is located in a side room with no corridor around it. Around them, sometimes there were other spaces that were used as schools, observatories and hospitals. In front of the temple was a pool or basin as a washing place. These building are also known as “Chahar Taghi” meaning four-arched building. Some of these domes were made of brick and a row of stone, and their remains still exist today. The fire temples were built in such a way that it had a dome and a corridor around it. The architecture of a fire temple consists of a quadrangular building with four arched gates on all four sides. The interesting point is that the religion of Zoroaster has been the official religion of Iran for about 5 centuries and still has its followers. The manifestation of the god of light in Zoroastrianism is respect for fire. Zoroastrianism is related to the three principles of good speech, good thought and good deed, which are also expressed in other religions.

There is disagreement about the date of the advent of Zarathustra, but still the time of birth is attributed to 660 BC and the beginning of his prophet hood to 630 BC. Zarathustra’s claim was to clear the world from darkness and lead people to goodness. This prophet called Zarathustra introduced himself as the messenger of a god of goodness and enlightenment. A Reformer person rose up from among the people and introduced new beliefs and thoughts. They tried their best to build fire temples along the rivers, springs or sea to celebrate the four precious elements of fire, soil, air and water.Ĭenturies after the arrival of the Aryan people in Iran, urbanization began. They constructed special temples to honor some of these elements. Zoroastrian prophet is Zoroaster, Zaratushtra or “Ashu Zartosht”. According to their holy book called “Avesta”, Zoroastrians consider the four elements of air, earth, water and fire as purifying and valuable elements, and they held them in high esteem. Currently, the religion of Zoroastrianism is one of the official religions of Iran and has its own followers. The religion of most Iranians was Zoroastrianism before the advent of Islam. In the Zoroastrian fire temples, fire was not worshiped at all, but because of its dynamism, warmth, protection and the nature of transformation, it is mentioned as aspects of divine power. Keeping the flames lit became a divine symbol for worship in Iranian fire temples. In ancient Iran, the head of the family always kept the fire burning, so keeping the fire lit became a tradition. The Zoroastrian place of worship is called fire temple because they perform their prayers in the presence of fire.

Sacred fire temple