Tower of Silence

Many Parsis (or Zoroastrians) still believe in the ancient practice of "sky burial." They build tall circular structures called "towers of silence" and place their dead on the top. The remains of the dead are then discomposed by the sun and carried off by vultures and other carrion eating birds. The feeding of the birds is also a Parsis' final act of charity as the dead body literally "melts into air." The modern world has made the practice less and less tenable although there are apparently plans to build a tower of silence off the coast of Texas. I can only imagine this project would greatly please this roost of vultures, pictured here at Ink's Lake State Park.