Sardar Mosque (Saatlu Mosque), Urmia

🕰️When was it built?

The mosque was built in the Qajar period, and a large clock was later fixed above its entrance. The exact date of the clock is not known, but it goes back to the early 14th century AH (the late 19th century CE). The building has been restored since, and the domes, portal and outer tiles are among the restored parts.

🏛️What was it built for?

The building was made for worship and congregational prayer and has separate sections for men and women. The large prayer hall is the heart of the mosque, with a rectangular plan of 12 by 18 metres. Stone columns and a roof of vaults and domes shape this hall.

👀What you will see

• Twelve octagonal stone columns hold up the domes of the prayer hall, and their capitals are carved with muqarnas.
• The entrance portal is decorated with arabesques and seven-colour floral tiles in yellow, pink, blue, green and white.
• The mihrab sits in one of the blind arches on the south side of the hall and has floral tiles on a yellow ground.
• The Ayat al-Kursi is written around the mihrab, and above its arch religious names sit inside a rectangular frame.
• The clock above the entrance is the very feature that gave the mosque the name Saatlu.

🎒Good to know before you go

• By the entrance, look closely at the floral tiles; inside the prayer hall, notice the octagonal columns and the carving of their capitals.