The early afternoon visit was initiated at the Takiyeh of Moaven al-Molk, which l was really impressed by. Being a place where Shiite Muslims gather to mourn muharram I didn't expect it to be so rich arquitecturally and historically speaking. Built in the Qajar era it is divided in three sections - The Abbasiya (where we would later access to a small Museum of Anthropology and Jewellery), the Hussainiya and the Zaeynabiya (congregational Hall).
What mostly impressed me were the numerous exquisite tiling pictures covering the walls, which depicted preachers reciting one of the Ashur eulogies about Hossein with veiled ladies at their feet, Hossein's sister berating the Umayyad ruler of Damascus, men dressed in white flagellating themselves in the commemorative parades, whole panels showing the Karbale episode, European envoys in European dresses and many more related to the Shahnameh (epic poem written by Ferdowsi) that I wasn't able to fully memorize.
I must admit Masoomeh, our host and guide did a great job at explainging everything to us in the utmost detail but it will certainly take some further studies to really absorb the amount of provided information. I did mostly concentrate on the artistry of the tiles and the meticulous depiction of both characters and historic and religious episodes.
Once we walked out we visited some workshops within the complex and were priviledged enough to among three different types of Art have listened to a kurdistan flute player, whose produced sounds left us completely speechless.
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