The Towers of Silence

In Persia stand two towers called by the Parsee the "Towers of Silence."

According to their religion, they never bury their dead, but have the body exposed on the top of one of these towers, until the sun and the rain and the fowls of the air have cleaned the bones of all flesh. The bones are then collected, and placed in the other tower.

These Parsees, who are followers of Zoroaster, and very devout, have almost disappeared as a people, there being only about eight thousand of them at the present time.