A Yakh-chāl in the province of Kerman.
A yakh-chāl (Persian: یخچال, means "ice space") was previously used in Iran as a cold room. The word yakh-chāl also means glacier in Persian.
A yakh-chāl has a cone shape above ground. Underground is the cooling area. Often there was ice cream laid in the winter that was taken from the mountains. The underground space and the used (insulating) material kept the temperature cool. In addition to ice cream, food was often stored.
In today's Iran there are still many yakh-chāls left, though they are usually no longer used for cooling. The yakh-chāls have been restored as a monument. Also see
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