Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque

🕰️When was it built?

The mosque was built under Shah Abbas I in the early 17th century (early 11th century AH), and its building and decoration are dated to completion in 1028 AH (1618–19). Its architect was Master Mohammad Reza Isfahani, whose name survives on two small panels in the mihrab. The inscription over the portal is in the hand of Alireza Abbasi.

🏛️What was it built for?

The building was made for worship and is part of the Safavid ensemble of Naqsh-e Jahan Square. Its entrance lines up with the square, but prayer must face Mecca; so the entrance corridor turns and brings the domed chamber into line with the direction of prayer.

👀What you will see

• The lower walls of the forecourt and the side platforms are faced with yellow marble, and the entrance rises a few steps above the square.
• The double door is made of plane-tree wood, and behind it the corridor turns first left and then right.
• The mihrab has mosaic tilework and fine shell-like muqarnas, and the architect's name is written inside it.
• Latticed windows around the drum of the dome bring daylight inside, so the light does not come only through the door.
• Thuluth inscriptions sit beside plant motifs and mosaic tiles; above the dado, almost everything is covered in tiles.

💡Something interesting

The mosque is named after Sheikh Lotfollah, a scholar who came to Iran from Jabal Amel. Shah Abbas brought him from Qazvin to Isfahan, and this building was made for his teaching, his residence and for leading prayers. The mosque had other names at times, but its first name is the one that stayed.