Esfahak Village

Esfahak, a World Tourism Village, is a village in Dehuk District of Tabas County in South Khorasan Province, Iran. After the 1978 (1357 SH) earthquake in Tabas, Esfahak was badly damaged and became uninhabitable. Its residents lived in tents for a while, then worked together to build wooden rooms known as "Chui rooms" (otagh-e chui) and lived in them until a new, modern village was built.

The architecture and layout of the houses in this village are perfectly suited to desert regions, and the materials used to build these historic homes are all adobe (mud brick) and clay. Building the houses close together and compact also protected them against the threat of theft and raids by bandits. The compactness of the houses minimized heat exchange, so they received very little direct sunlight, which kept them cool in summer and kept the interiors warm in winter.

Most of the village's men wear a turban, jacket, trousers, shirt, waistcoat, hat and shoes. Women wear long, loose dresses, trousers, headscarves, chadors and other women's garments. Carpet weaving is the village's most important handicraft. Dates and saffron are Esfahak's souvenirs. Common local dishes include various kinds of ash (thick soup) and local abgoosht (meat and chickpea stew).