Jameh Mosque of Tun, Ferdows

🕰️When was it built?

The mosque goes back at least to the 4th century AH (10th century), and parts of it were built and rebuilt in later periods. The brickwork of the west iwan is attributed to the 5th and 6th centuries AH and the Seljuk era. The mosque is on the National Heritage List as number 1222.

🏛️What was it built for?

The mosque was part of the life of the old city of Tun and is known for the two-iwan plan of Khorasan architecture. Earthquakes and rebuilding mean that not all its sides are of one date; to read the building, compare the brick part of the iwan, the spaces on either side and the courtyard.

👀What you will see

• The iwan is about sixteen metres high, and its tall, layered arch dominates the courtyard front.
• The brickwork of the facade is made of geometric patterns repeated in square panels; look closely at the gaps between the panels.
• The inside of the iwan once had traces of painting on plaster, unlike the brick face outside; look at the details from the permitted path.
• The lower arches and entrances on either side of the iwan show how the central space differs in size from the side parts.

💡Something interesting

The prayer hall of Akhund Molla Akbar was added to the east side in the Qajar era and had a hundred thick columns, but it was lost in the earthquake of 1968. This history shows that what you see of the mosque today is not the whole of its historic complex.

🎒Good to know before you go