Yakhchāl

Ancient Persian ice house

A yakhchāl (Persian: یخچال, lit. 'Ice pit'; yakh meaning 'ice' and chāl meaning 'pit') is an ancient type of ice house, which produced ice and desserts associated with it, like faloodeh, or sorbets. They are primarily found in the Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e-Kavir deserts, whose climates range from cold (BWk) to hot (BWh) desert regions. In modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan the term yakhchāl is also used to refer to modern refrigerators.

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