What are these tall buildings with hundreds of holes found all over the desert?

This unusual architecture can be found across many desert regions but what are they for? They look too narrow to house people and have so many holes? In this video we are going to find out what this curious design is for and I’ll give you a little hint, its connected to an ingenious way to survive in the desert....

These stunningly remarkable and unique looking buildings can be seen throughout The Middle East and North Africa in some of the most arid and hot deserts, they have been found in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and finally in Iran where historian say they originate.

So we are going to take a more in depth look at why they started out in Iran to understand what these curious structures are for. When these towers were said to have been invented, Iran was known as Persia and due to it unique geographical location it was one of the cradles of civilization.

It is the 18th most populous country in the world with a population of approximately 82 million people. In terms of total land area, its the 2nd largest country in the Middle East and 17th largest in the world, covering 636,372 square miles. The country borders the Caspian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf.

At first glance its often mistaken as a completely arid country but in fact its climate and geography is extremely diverse, only about 22% of its land area is desert. Compared with its neighboring countries of Saudi Arabia with (95% desert), Turkmenistan with (80% desert) and Iraq with (40% desert).

The country boasts range lands, forests, including rain forests, wetlands and even glaciers however the country has no major rivers and streams with the only navigable river being the 520-mile long Karun.

The country also boasts curiously interesting ancient architecture such as wind towers which create the effect of air conditioning without electricity called Bâdgir, they also have these huge domes known as Yakhchāl to store and even make ice.

Both of which we have covered in previous videos, so today we are going to look at another ingenious architectural design that is so useful and integral to survival in this countries deserts.