Setting
Meybod is an adobe town on the Yazd–Kashan road, with a mud-brick citadel, an ice house, a pigeon tower and a restored caravanserai.
Why this place matters for craft
Meybod is the place most often named in connection with zilu, a flat cotton floor covering woven in stepped geometric patterns. The craft is widely reported to have contracted sharply, with few looms active; pieces described as antique should be examined carefully.
Quarters, bazaars and workshops
| Area | What is there |
|---|---|
| Caravanserai complex | Restored buildings now housing craft retail and a zilu display. |
| Potters' lanes | Small kiln yards producing domestic ware. |
What to look for on an object
- Zilu — Cotton flatweave with reversible stepped bands; loose, sun-faded examples are often recent, not old.
These notes are for learning to look, not for authentication. No description here certifies an object, its age or its origin.
Practical notes
- The town is usually visited as a stop between Yazd and Kashan; a couple of hours covers the main sites.
- Very few zilu looms are reported active, so availability is unpredictable.
- Workshop addresses, bazaar hours and market days change; confirm locally before travelling.
Season: Autumn to spring.
Used in these crafts
A dense, pileless cotton floor covering woven on a horizontal loom, historically centred on the town of Meybod near Yazd, known for its plain-weave structure and geometric pattern created through warp and weft colour arrangement.
A regional pottery tradition centred on the town of Lalejin near Hamadan, producing thrown and press-moulded glazed and unglazed earthenware, from utilitarian storage vessels to decorative tableware, in a large number of household workshops.
Earthenware decorated with coloured slips under a clear or tinted glaze, including early Islamic Nishapur-type wares and later village production such as Lalejin.