Updated November 2026 We have corrected the temple’s location (it is off Jomhouri Street in central Tehran, not on Shariati Street), added visiting etiquette and checked the history.
The Tehran Adorian Fire Temple (Atashkadeh-ye Adorian, آتشکده آدوریان) is the only working Zoroastrian fire temple in the capital and one of the quietest, most rewarding small sights in central Tehran. Behind its walls on Mirza Kuchak Khan Street, a sacred fire carried from Yazd more than a century ago still burns, and visitors are welcome outside ceremony times if they arrange their visit and follow a few simple customs.
A short history
Building began in 1913–14, led by the Zoroastrian parliamentarian Keikhosrow Shahrokh with donations from Parsi Zoroastrians in Bombay and from the community in Iran. When money from India dried up, Iranian Zoroastrians funded the rest, and the temple was consecrated in late 1917. Its fire was brought on a 25-day journey from the great fire temple in Yazd. The original brick facade was replaced with white marble in 1966, and the temple was added to Iran’s National Heritage List in 2003. It is run by Tehran’s Zoroastrian community and hosts festivals such as Nowruz and Sadeh as well as weddings and memorial services.
Zoroastrianism, founded by the prophet Zarathustra, is one of the world’s oldest monotheistic faiths and was the main religion of Persia until the Islamic conquest in the 7th century. Its ethic is summed up as good thoughts, good words and good deeds, and fire is revered as a symbol of divine light and purity rather than worshipped in itself. Many Iranian traditions, including Nowruz, the Persian New Year, have Zoroastrian roots.
What you will see
The complex covers about 1,300 square metres behind brick walls. You enter through a wooden door into a courtyard shaded by pine trees, with an oval pool of about four by eight metres in front of the main building. Water, like fire, stands for purity in Zoroastrian belief, and the layout will look familiar if you have seen the fire temple in Yazd.
The white stone facade has a portico of six columns whose capitals are carved with bulls, an ancient Persian motif borrowed from Persepolis. Above the entrance is a carved Faravahar, the winged symbol of Zoroastrianism, and the courtyard holds 16 stone spheres representing the 16 sacred fires of the faith.
Inside, a prayer hall with rows of chairs leads to the fire chamber, where the flame burns in a metal urn and can be seen through glass panels on three sides. Only priests enter the chamber itself. Around the courtyard are smaller buildings: a Yasht room used for prayers and memorial gatherings, a kitchen with bread ovens where food is prepared for ceremonies, and reception halls, some dating from the Qajar and Pahlavi eras.
Visiting tips
- Arrange your visit. The temple is generally open to visitors on weekday mornings outside ceremony times, roughly 8:30 to 13:00 from Saturday to Wednesday and until midday on Thursday, but hours vary. It is best to telephone ahead or go with a guide, and to avoid religious festivals unless you have been invited.
- Dress and customs. Dress modestly. You will be asked to remove your shoes before entering the prayer hall and to wash your hands and face at the courtyard basin. Men wear a white cap and women a white headscarf, both provided at the temple.
- Photography. Ask permission before taking photos, especially inside and of worshippers.
- Behaviour. Keep your voice down; this is an active place of worship, not a museum.
- Language. Staff speak mainly Persian, though someone can often help in English.
Getting there
The temple is on Mirza Kuchak Khan Street, just north of Jomhouri Street in central Tehran, directly opposite St Mary’s Armenian Church. The nearest metro stations are Saadi on Line 1 and Hasan Abad on Line 2, each about a 15-minute walk away; see our Tehran Metro guide for tickets and routes. A taxi or ride-hailing car is easier if you are coming from the north: ask for Atashkadeh-ye Zartoshtiyan on Mirza Kuchak Khan.
The area is one of the best places in Tehran to see the city’s religious diversity: St Mary’s Church, the Haim Synagogue and Ibrahim Mosque are all within a short walk around 30 Tir Street. For more, see our round-up of religious buildings around Tehran and other places to visit in Tehran.
