Cypress of Abarkooh

Cypress of Abarkooh, in Yazd desert, is popular as a symbol of life and beauty and it is actually one of the wonders in the whole world.

"Four thousand five hundred years old cypress", "Iran's  oldest  living  organism",  "The second  oldest and living organism in the world", are some titles of Abarkooh tree which is known as Parsik.

In terms of botanical, this tree is named Zarbin Cypress and it is a slow-growing, softwood, evergreen, cone, cone flowers in lime color which blooms in mid-spring.

The bark slots of tree trunks are as a network of intussusception, wrinkles and deep. The symbol of tree and specially the cypress (the tree of life and freedom) can be found abundantly in Iranian cultural heritage and reliefs. Cypress of Abarkooh is the symbol of Ahura Mazda in ancient Iran and its planting dated back to Zoroaster prophet mentioned as Zoroaster tree in Iran's myth.

Although this tree is known to be a five thousand years cypress in Iran, scientists from Japan and Russia has estimated its age to 8000 years and Russian scientist has estimated it between 4,000 to 4,500 years. Although old cypress of Abarkooh is not in its right habitant, it enjoys the relatively good living conditions, which include a hot and temperate climate, adequate water and opportunities for growth in seven months of the year.

Today, it is preserved through measures such as pesticide and releasing the historical cypress buffer zone by the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Yazd province during last year.