Wednesday 15 October 2014

The 8 day cultural trip to Iran - "Iranian Treasures" - (Day 5 late morning cont.) - Isfahan, Masjed-e Iman - The 20th of September 2014


Referred to as the "Shah" Mosque and acknowledged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site the Masjed-e Iman's entrance ayvan with its towering façade had a huge impact on us, mainly because of the rich stalactide tilework, which should be no surprise bearing in mind the fact that some of the best craftsmen in the country were engaged in it, under the supervision of a well known Master of Calligraphy of the epoch, Reza Abbasi.











 
 
 
Through the great silver doors dating back to 1636 we walked into the courtyard, under restoration, which didn't allow us to get an overall perspective of the whole ensemble, particularly the range of "mosaic" tilework colouring said to be majestic.
 









In the middle, right in front of the courtyard a large marble basin said to have been filled (in the past) with fresh water or lemonade for the worshippers could be seen. The domes kept on drawing my attention as we walked towards the prayer hall, where the bulbous shape of the dome had a different shape, thus providing us with a splendid example of a double dome.
































We continued strolling between the main prayer hall and the winter mosque built as a typical hypostyle mosque, whose celing was worth looking at. From it we walked out onto an outside courtyard where we could finally see the minarets.



























 

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