Azarakhsh Fire Temple (Stone Mosque of Darab)

🕰️When was it built?

Some researchers think it was first a temple of Mithra and became a fire temple in the Sasanian era. The exact date it was first made is not known. A mihrab was added in 652 AH (1254), and from then on it was used as a mosque.

🏛️What was it built for?

The main space was used for worship, and its change of use came with the added mihrab. The building was not put together from blocks of stone; the mountain itself was carved away to make the inner space. This stone space covers about 420 square metres.

👀What you will see

• The main space has a cross-shaped plan, and its walls and covered parts are cut from the mountain rock.
• Part of the roof is open, and right below it is a shallow pool in the floor.
• The added mihrab marks the period when this place of worship became a mosque.
• Outside, a small room is cut into the mountain, probably once a guard's post.
• Near the building is a mill cut into the mountain, fed with water from above through two large stone shafts.

🎒Good to know before you go

• Look at the open part of the roof and the pool beneath it; the two line up exactly.